


More Perfect Union

by LittleSweetCheeks



Category: Madam Secretary
Genre: Angst, Drabbles, Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:13:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 43
Words: 34,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29008107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: A series of short fics and drabbles all involving some combination of Henry/Elizabeth/Nadine.
Relationships: Elizabeth McCord/Henry McCord/Nadine Tolliver
Comments: 181
Kudos: 46





	1. Chapter 1

Henry pushed her hair out of her face gently, eyes busy taking her in. It was cold out, she’d fled out the back toward her car, but he’d chased her down. “I know everything and I… I still want you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“Why not?” He leaned in, bringing their lips only a breath apart. “When was the last time someone kissed you?”

She had to think about that, it’d been too long.

“I want to kiss you.”

It was hard for her to believe. Henry McCord, that man that left other men wanting by comparison, wanted to kiss _her_. “Yes.” His lips brushed against hers gently, as if still searching for permission, and then pressed again, firmer this time.

His hand cupped her head, holding her close. “Please come back in.”

“We shouldn’t do this. What about Elizabeth?”

“She wants to kiss you too.”


	2. Chapter 2

Nadine yawned against the back of her hand, shaking her head a bit to clear the encroaching fog of exhaustion.

“You’re tired.” It was a statement, an observation.

“I’m fine.”

“Nadine…” Elizabeth tugged her close, not caring that they were in the back of a limo and not alone. “You’ve been going nonstop for three days.”

She tried to pull back, being cuddled into Elizabeth’s shoulder wasn’t exactly dignified… or professional. “Something could happen…”

“And you need sleep. Close your eyes, I’ll keep you safe.”

Her body obeyed without her permission and suddenly she was slumping into the curve of her body, her face tucked in her neck. She was far too tired to care about the others watching them.


	3. Chapter 3

“Nadine.”

The soft voice drew her out of her slumber. “Hm.”

“Nadine, wake up.” She could hear the smile in Elizabeth’s voice.

“It’s not even morning yet.”

“I know, but it’s snowing, Nadine! Come on, come out and see the snow with me.” Elizabeth tugged on her hand. “Please?”

She turned to get Henry to help tell her to stop, but quickly discovered she was alone in the large bed. “Where’s Henry?”

“He went to bring more firewood up for morning.”

Nadine huffed. “Fine.” Pushing the blankets back, she nearly yelped. “It’s freezing!”

“You’ll be fine.” She pulled her off the bed. “Don’t worry about changing, just grab socks and your boots.”

“I can’t believe you woke me up for this. How’d you even know it was snowing?”

“I heard it.”

“…Snow doesn’t make noise.”

“It does if you listen. Come on, Nadine, hurry up.”

“I am, I am.”

Outside it was snowing hard, piles already forming on the ground. Nadine was wrapped in one of Elizabeth’s heavy down coats, a hat pulled down on her head. Even in the moonlight, it was almost as bright as day.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Elizabeth crunched across the yard, spinning with her arms out as snow fell on her. “It’s already deep enough to make snow angels!”

“To do what?” She surely didn’t hear her correctly, but then Elizabeth dropped into the snow and spread out her arms. “You’re going to get soaked and freeze.”

“We can warm up after.” Elizabeth stopped reaching for her. “Come here.”

She felt silly being outside in the dark dressed in pajamas and boots, but it didn’t stop her from acquiescing. “Okay.” She dropped beside Elizabeth and started her own snow angel.

“There you two are!” Henry came into view over them. “I didn’t realize you came out.”

“She wanted to play in the snow.” Nadine turned her face, looking across to Elizabeth. “The cold, wet, snow.”

“We could help you warm up.” Henry grinned before standing over her, dropping to his knees and making her screech in surprise. “Your hands are already like ice!” He exclaimed when Nadine touched his face.

“I don’t do well in the cold.”

He kissed her. “I’ll keep you warm.” He tugged the zipper down her coat.

“Undressing me in the snow won’t keep me warm.”

His lips found her throat. “Depends on what I do with you once you’re undressed.” He grazed his teeth against her skin. “We’re all alone out here, we could do anything.”

“Warm her up, Henry.” Elizabeth settled into Nadine’s side. “We should show her how wonderful snow can be.”

Her coat was unzipped now, but with Henry on her plus his coat open over them both, she was still closer to warm than cold. Warm fingers pushed the waistband of her pants down just enough, teasing her as they took turns kissing her. A thumb circled her clit and then fingers pushed into her and it took a moment of adjustment to understand why it felt different- both Elizabeth and Henry were in her now. She gasped, shifting her legs wider to taken them both in.

There was something uniquely erotic about being spread out as then snow swirled around them, feeling the way they both moved together in her. She moaned.

“She’s close, Henry.”

“I know. She’s so beautiful.”

A thumb pressed her clit again and Nadine fell apart, crying out as she came there in the snow.


	4. Chapter 4

Elizabeth wandered Nadine’s living room while she waited for her to return. They’d only had a handful of tentative dates so far, most involving the three of them, but tonight was just about them. The shelves were filled with items from around the world, obvious memories, photos, books. Her eyes drifted from shelf to shelf curiously.

At the very end by the wall, she looked at a shelf of old photos, identifying a much younger Nadine in a number of them. Tucked behind the others was a framed picture of a man in Air Force blues. Lifting it so she could see it fully, Elizabeth tried to remember if Nadine had ever mentioned a brother. The picture wasn’t old enough to be a father or uncle.

“Okay, I’m ready.” Nadine reappeared.

Elizabeth turned the frame around, smiling. “Who’s this?”

Brown eyes landed on the photo and then cut to the space where it’d been sitting on the shelf. “Oh…” She cleared her throat. “Major Edward Briggs, MD. He served about the same time Henry did in Desert Storm. He was stationed for a time in Germany and then went in to- uh- to treat soldiers and civilians in the war zone.” Elizabeth caught the way she fidgeted with her glasses. “He was eight days out from the end of his deployment when the convoy he was with came- came under attack and he died.” She drew a breath and carefully let it out. “He was… a wonderful human being. You and Henry both would have liked him, I think. He would have loved the both of you.” A sad smile appeared. “He loved to laugh…”

“He- he was a friend?”

Nadine got a fond look on her face. “He was my best friend. He was my… he was my husband.”

Elizabeth blinked, processing that new bit of information as Nadine began to walk closer, her hand out for the frame. She watched as Nadine flipped it over and unclipped the back, revealing a second picture behind the first.

“This is us together. We’d been married just over a year when he was shipped off and this… this was our last photo together. These are how I remember seeing him last. Well… this or in fatigues.” The second photo was clearly taken the same day as the first, only in this one he had an arm wrapped around Nadine, a young boy at their side.

“You look so happy.” She smiled. “He was tall.”

“Taller than Blake by a few inches.” She chuckled. “We had plans… He was going to support us while I finished school and then we were going to expand our family and settle down somewhere. He had the kindest spirit and wanted a whole house full of kids.”

After a moment, Elizabeth passed the photos back. “Thank you for telling me about him, and I’m sorry for bringing up painful memories.”

“No, it’s- it’s okay. It’s been twenty years, I’m- I’m at a point where I can remember the joy.” She put the picture frame back together and back on the shelf. “I think I never settled down again in part because I always compared every man after to him. He was gentle, both physically and in spirit, he was kind, he was giving, he was just… a good man.” Her eyes finally left the picture and met Elizabeth’s. “Like Henry’s a good man.”

“A rare breed.”

“Very much so.” She reached out, taking Elizabeth’s hand. “And I’m forever grateful that you are equally as good, and willing to share Henry with me.”


	5. Chapter 5

She almost calms herself, but one look to the other occupant on the couch and she bursts into another fit of giggles. The muscles in her sides ache and there’s a pleasant buzz happening from the alcohol, but it’s been a long week that ended, shockingly, on a rather celebratory note.

Elizabeth polishes off her glass and leans forward to refill it again, nearly tipping off the couch and sloshing some of the drink on the table before bursting into fresh giggles at the mess.

Determined to keep her from falling to the floor, Nadine grabs her by the blouse and hauls her back, rearranging herself when Elizabeth crashes into her chest. Blazers and shoes are scattered around the office, forgotten.

“Aww, you made me spill.” Elizabeth holds up her hand. “I’m drippy now.”

“Come ‘ere.” She tugs the glass out of her hand and then brings her fingers to her lips, licking the mess away. “There y’ go, all clean.” She feels warm and relaxed holding her. “Finish your drink.” She downs the rest of her own and waits until both glasses are out of the way. “You did good this week, Love.” Nadine wriggles down so she’s more reclined and then hauls Elizabeth up her body in a display of strength that always leaves the other woman a bit speechless.

“Do I get a treat?” Elizabeth shimmies until they’re better situated as she giggles at her own question.

“I think Henry’s the one who deserves the treat. We’ve been a little mean to him lately.” She pulls the hem of Elizabeth’s chiffon blouse out of her skirt, giving her the freedom to tuck one hand under to find her breast. “The poor man has to be home all alone while we’ve been together all week.” When Elizabeth pushes up enough to stare down at her, she catches her bottom lip in her teeth innocently, which starts a fresh round of giggles in both of them.

“We can give him a treat later.” Barely balancing her weight on one elbow, she tries to paw at Nadine, but frustrates easily. “Some days I swear you wear the most difficult clothes possible.”

“I like this shirt.” She does. It’s hard to find pastel colors that don’t wash her out entirely, she doesn’t have Elizabeth’s complexion. This one was a find while in Copenhagen, but she knows that Elizabeth’s complaint isn’t about color, but about cut. The blouse is loose until the long, fitted, ruffled cuffs at her wrists and the collar ruffles fitted around her throat as well. It was all held on her with what Elizabeth had previously complained was a mile of tiny buttons up the back.

Today she’d paired it with high-waisted black pants. The end result meaning that while Elizabeth’s thin and loose blouse, paired with a flared skirt Nadine was very fond of, gave Nadine all the access in the world to touch flesh, Elizabeth couldn’t do in kind.

“I know you do. It’s beautiful on you, but now I want to take it off you.”

“At home.” She pulls her down again, kissing her until they’re both feeling the heat of it.

Someone clears their throat and both women turn to find the source. Nadine’s still got one hand under Elizabeth’s blouse and the other has pulled up her skirt, hand almost to her ass.

Henry is staring, clearly unsure where to even begin, and the pair of them exchange a look, bursting into more giggles.

“Did the two of you drink that whole bottle?”

Elizabeth stretches across, trusting that Nadine will hold on and keep her from falling, and grabs the bottle, swirling it slightly. “There’s still some left for you, Babe.”

Nadine’s on her back, keeping hold of Elizabeth and watching as Henry crosses to them. She pulls her back, shifting so Elizabeth is almost tucked on her side against the back of the couch so they’re cheek to cheek. When Henry leans down, she threads her fingers into his hair, linking them with Elizabeth’s when she does the same, and then they kiss.

The sweet kiss is the three of them, warm lips together, intimate and unifying and connected as one, and then Elizabeth pulls back half an inch and allows Henry to kiss Nadine properly before taking her turn.

“Why do the two of you taste like cherries?”

They break into giggles again, turning to make eye contact and ended up pressed nose to nose. “Someone brought us cherry cordials.” Nadine finally gets out, though the words slip and slide together, too many C’s and S’s for her to keep them separate.

“They’re on my desk.” Elizabeth twists around to point to the box, but gets distracted, leaning in to kiss Nadine.

When they both moan, Henry steps in again, tugging Elizabeth to her feet. “No sex in the office today.”

“Aww.”

He reaches for Nadine next, tugging her up and holding her close when she stumbles, one ankle rolling as it refuses to hold her. “How much of that shared bottle did you drink?”

She tries to remember, but can’t and giggles at the thought, brows knitting together. “I don’t think I’m drunk. This was a good day, we just wanted to celebrate.” She can hear it now, the slur to her words, and she knows her lisp must be obvious. “I can walk.” She pushes away and makes it one whole step before she sways and his arms are around her. She giggles again.

“I think it might be better if you walk out barefoot.”

“That wouldn’t be very professional.” Of course, the word ‘professional’ comes out a garbled mess that she doesn’t even try to clean up. “You’ve been all alone this week; we were going to give you a treat.” Her hand runs down his chest to the front of his pants, making him jerk back and grab her wrist. “Li-iz, he won’t let me play.” She whines and then straightens, smiling up at Henry wide-eyed in hopes he’ll give in as her voice takes on an almost child-like quality. “Why are you being so mean to me?”

Elizabeth is far more stable on her feet as she appears at Henry’s other side. “Are you being mean to my baby?”

His head turns, ready to defend himself, but Elizabeth cups his cheeks and starts kissing him, giving Nadine the opportunity to restart her assault, but his belt buckle proves more complicated than she can work out at the moment. When he pulls away, he pulls them both to his chest. “You are both unbelievably drunk.” Now he’s the one chuckling. “Let’s get you home and you can be as naked as you want to.”

Nadine’s eyes light up. “I like naked.” She reaches again for Elizabeth’s shirt, but it’s Henry who pulls her back this time. “You said we could get naked.”

“At home.” He kisses them both on their head. “I am so glad neither of you drive in. The two of you and alcohol is dangerous.”

There’s a quick rap on the doorframe and then Blake’s in the room. “Motorcade is ready for them.”

“Thank you.” Henry turns them both, sitting each in a chair. “Could you do me one more thing?”

“Anything.”

“I need to gather their things.” Henry’s already collecting shoes and jackets from the floor.

“Of course.” Blake nods, eyeing the pair of women warily. He’d found them together, already well on their way to drunk, giggling and hands roaming, earlier. It was why he’d called Henry to come and collect them. “I’ll bring Nadine’s things in and I’m- I’m guessing you’ll need help getting it all downstairs?”

Henry sighs. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

Once Blake’s gone, both women burst into fresh giggles.

It only takes Henry a few minutes to gather everything, helping Elizabeth into her coat and dropping her shoes into her handbag. “Let’s go, Babe.” He tugs her to her feet. “To the elevator.” She kisses him but does as she’s told and then he turns to Nadine, pulling her to her feet as well. “Are you going to walk or fall?”

“I can walk.” She makes it past Blake’s desk before gravity insists on proving her wrong. Henry passes the bags in his arms to Blake, accepting her coat and wrapping her in it before holding her close again. “I might’ve had a bit too much to drink.” Both men chuckle and shake their heads. “It was a good week, in the end.”

Elizabeth’s leaned against the frame of the elevator. “It’ll be a good week once we get home, Baby.” She pulls Nadine close enough they can nuzzle together. “We’ll have a good weekend.”

They’re rarely this affectionate away from home, but it’s late and they’re otherwise alone and this floor has no cameras. They wait for the elevator to arrive, Henry still with one hand on Nadine just incase as the two of them are curled together. The euphoric feeling starts to give way to a need for sleep and Nadine drops her face into the curve of Elizabeth’s neck, wrapping her arms around her waist. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” The elevator dings and she leads Nadine in, barely breaking their hold only to settle against the wall in the same position. Her left arm is around Nadine’s back as she uses her right to gently comb back her hair.

Across the small space, both men watch, and Blake casts a glance or two Henry’s way. He knows they’re all together, isn’t a stranger to the smaller intimate moments, the long glances and tiny touches, but today is the first time he’s seen them so openly demonstrative. In the garage, he hands Henry their bags once they are loaded into the back seat, Henry drove in and will have to drive back home. Even in the back seat, they can hear soft talking and gentle giggles as the door closes.

Henry turns to face him as they pull out, patting him on the shoulder. “Thanks for calling me. Have a good weekend.”

“Yeah, you too.”


	6. Chapter 6

“How could you… How could you ever think I’d do that, Nadine?” Elizabeth’s voice is raised, in frustration, in desperation, perhaps in a bit of anger and fear. “Why would I… Why would I do that to you?! I _saved_ you from prison!”

Somehow her affair with Vincent Marsh is out, exactly one year after the man died and now it’s out. As if their lives haven’t been hell enough recently.

“I _need_ you Nadine! It wasn’t me!” There’s a sharp gasp and deep down Nadine knows what it means, but she’s too horrified, too angry, to care right now.

“I can’t do this!” She’s headed for the door when the first sob happens behind her and it hurts because she knows Elizabeth isn’t doing it for dramatics or manipulation. Turning back, she confirms it, Elizabeth has one hand clamped over her mouth, holding in any further sound, while the other is fisted against her stomach. A day hasn’t gone by in the last six weeks where Elizabeth McCord hasn’t had a major panic attack.

Staring unmoving, she watches as Elizabeth turns away and stumbles to the kitchen. Alone, Nadine is loathe to admit that it makes no sense for Elizabeth to be the one who outed her. Not now. _Especially_ not now. Not when they’re in a more complicated relationship than what she had with Vincent. Not when Elizabeth’s mental health is so precarious.

Silently, she walks to the kitchen. Elizabeth is slumped against the cabinets, a glass of water shaking in her hand. Settling on the floor at her side, she helps her drink part of it before setting it out of the way. “I’m sorry. It’s just… It’s been very overwhelming for me to have to confront what I’ve done so publicly.” She draws a breath through her nose, pressing a kiss to Elizabeth’s hair before pulling her to her chest. It’s been a long week, a hellish week, she decides it’s no wonder tempers have flared so spectacularly. When Elizabeth begins to sob into her chest, Nadine begins to cry as well.

It’s days like this when she wonders if they aren’t horrible for one another with the way they feed off one another’s distress, amplifying it exponentially again and again. But then Henry comes home, instantly alarmed at their states, and doesn’t ask questions, doesn’t press for explanations, simply rearranges them both into his embrace until they feel safe from the world.


	7. Chapter 7

Gasping, Nadine sat up in the bed, a hand on her chest. In the dark, she desperately willed her breathing to return to normal, but the memory of her nightmare swirled dizzily in her mind. In the weeks since Iran, the nightmares had come more and more frequently, leaving her with broken and limited sleep as the message that it’d all been her fault was screamed at her in her dreams.

Quietly, she climbed out of the bed and walked around the end, making her way to the bathroom. She pushed the door shut and then stumbled in the darkness toward the toilet as her stomach swirled. She’d expected it to be like every other night where she dry heaved until her body grew tired and her muscles sore, but tonight… Tonight she was caught off guard as she found herself physically ill over what role she played in their collective nightmare. The nightmare where Elizabeth had nearly died and had come home a shell of her previous self.

As she gagged and spit, trying to clear away the taste, the sobs started. Bone shaking, tooth stuttering sobs. She turned, wedging herself into the corner, knees to her chest, as she finally let go of all of the pent up worry, the pent up fear and despair. When she tried to grab a breath, the noise came out sharp and desperate and as if she were dying.

The door latch clicked and then the door pulled open, but she couldn’t stop it now that it’d started. She was gasping too hard, crying too hard, shaking too hard. Her vision felt out of focus and the darkness seemed to be even darker.

A large hand touched her, tried to brush the hair from her face, but she jerked back, cracking her head against the wall. Before she could catch up to who was with her, strong arms wrapped around her back and under her knees, lifting her easily off the floor.

“No!” She tried to scramble free, the cramping ache in her abdomen reminding her of having been ill. “What if I’m sick again?” Her voice was gravelly, desperate.

“Then I’ll take care of you and clean up whatever needs cleaned.” He placed her, still trembling, into the middle of the bed from his side. “Take a deep breath for me.”

“I- I can’t.”

His hand began rubbing her back in long, slow strokes and soon enough, her breathing began to regulate to match the pattern of his movements. “You are loved. You are not alone. You are not to blame.”

“W- why? Why do you still love me after everything that’s happened?”

The hand carried on for a moment before he spoke. “Because you are deserving of love and I get to be blessed with the gift of loving you. We both do… What set this off, do you know?”

She let herself be rearranged so she was spooned into his embrace. “I had a nightmare… ab- about Iran.” That darkness started to press in again, but she focused on his touch to push it back. “H- Henry?” She felt a new kind of fear trickling in. “Will I get past this?” In the darkness, she stared at Elizabeth’s sleeping face.

His nose brushed in her hair along the curve of the base of her skull. “We will get you past it. Are you ready to see Doctor Sherman?”

It had been asked before, never with any kind of malice. Her focus, up to now, had been getting Elizabeth back on an even keel. She’d watched her have so many panic attacks, but had refused to acknowledge her own. “I- I don’t know.”

Henry sighed, his breath ruffling her hair. “You’ll feel better.” His hand rubbed her arm. “You haven’t been sleeping, you need to talk to someone.”

“I know. May- maybe tomorrow. Maybe I can call tomorrow.”


	8. Chapter 8

“A dirty bomb?! Really?!”

Henry blinked the rest of the way awake, searching the room for the source of the voice. “Nadine?” He honestly had expected her to stay at work until Elizabeth was done. He’d fallen asleep reading and put the book aside, following as she dropped her things on the bench at the foot of the bed and then turned toward the bathroom.

The door creaked on its hinges, and then she was backlit in the doorway. “Would you stop being the hero all the time?”

“I- I’m sorry?” He tried to sit up straighter against the pillows, unsure exactly what it was he was apologizing for.

“You!” She huffed, continuing into the bathroom. Henry listened to the sink switch on and then off again, the soft sounds of her changing, the toilet flushing. She was backlit again, this time dressed in a pair of pajamas that seemed to now be shared between herself and Elizabeth, before the light clicked off and she padded to the bed, sitting at his side. “Look at you.” Her tone was no longer irritated, but worried, caring. “Your poor hands.” She cradled first one and then the other in hers. “I’ve been worried about you all day and had hardly heard a thing. Blake’s primary concern was keeping Elizabeth updated, so I wasn’t a priority. I was- I was standing next to Elizabeth, watching on TV when the explosion happened. I was walking her to the elevators with security when Jay said it was a dirty bomb.” She carded her hand through his hair. “How do you feel?”

He looked up into worried brown eyes. “I’ll be okay.” He reached up, touching her hair. “I’m sorry we were all separated. I’m thankful, though, that Elizabeth has you.” His hand dropped back to his stomach. “I know you’re the one who runs things when she gets pulled away.” He knew she was Elizabeth’s rock when he couldn’t be with them.

Nadine leaned down, kissing him. “I do what I can.”

It was odd for him, being on the receiving end of her care. So often it was she or Elizabeth receiving the concern and care. “I was so scared.” He admitted. “They wouldn’t let me call either of you, and then they were talking about radiation poisoning. I thought that was really it and I was separated from the two of you.” He’d been on the verge of panic until he’d heard Blake’s voice in the chaos beyond his isolation room and knew that somehow both women would be kept updated.

“I’m here now.” She frowned. “Elizabeth is at the White House again.”

“I know.”

She sighed. “I just kept thinking about how I wanted to hold you and never let you go. Jay even asked if I was okay to keep working. They all…” A smile twitched at her lips despite how she was feeling now. “There was a very odd conversation on the plane one night and the end of it was that it’s natural for a family to want to check you over, to touch and hug you to know you’re okay.”

He found her hand against his side. “I’m okay with that.”

She smiled and stood again, rounding the bed, and climbing in from Elizabeth’s side, curling onto her side and pulling him close. “We’ll take care of you now.”

=

Nadine hadn’t realized she’d dozen off holding Henry close until voices stirred her from her sleep. She watched as Elizabeth sank onto the bed and greeted him. “He’s here and he’s alive.” She told Elizabeth, once she pulled back from kissing Henry.

“I see that.” Elizabeth reached across and gripped her hand a moment.

“I don’t want to let him go.”

“She’s got a death grip on me.” Henry chuckled. “I’m not sure she’s planning on letting me out of her sight for a while.”

Elizabeth laughed. “I can’t blame her. I think the worst part of it all was that we were all apart and had to just trust that we’d all get home.” She stood again, tossing her coat on top of Nadine’s and disappearing into the bathroom. After a moment, she stepped out again. “Nadine? Have you seen the pink and gray sleep pants?”

Hiding a grin, she ducked her face into Henry’s chest, peering over him with one eye and not verbally answering.

She only shook her head. “I’m buying duplicate of everything from now on.”

When she disappeared again, Nadine sat up, scooting backward. “Scoot over, you’re in the middle tonight.” She tugged him closer. “Do you need anything? A drink? Something to eat?”

“I’m okay, I promise.” Henry complied, moving to the center before he tugged her back down.

Elizabeth returned, flipping off the lamp before crawling in on Henry’s side, tucking herself under his arm and searching for Nadine’s hand on his chest. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d died, Henry.” Nadine’s hand squeezed hers, offering a small amount of comfort. “We need you to be okay. I need to feel you’re okay.”

They rarely laid this way ever, the two women preferred to be snuggled together, but Henry liked it. One tucked under each arm, he tightened his hold around them a moment and then placed kisses to their heads. “Is this more of that hugging and touching Nadine mentioned earlier?”

“You told him that story?”

“Not the story, just the gist.”

Elizabeth started in on the story and Henry let his eyes drift shut, relaxing enough to sleep finally to the sound of their soft voices and light laughter.

=

When Henry managed to get down the stairs the next morning, both Nadine and Elizabeth were in the kitchen. Elizabeth was pouring coffee while Nadine was making breakfast. “Morning.”

“Sit.”

That they spoke in unison made him blink a moment and then do as he was told.

Elizabeth poured orange juice and brought it to the table. “Drink this.”

A beat later, Nadine was placing a plate in front of him. “Eat, Henry. You need your strength.”

“You two are terrifying when you work together like this.” They both turned back and smirked. “I’m starting to understand why you two are so good together at State.”

Nadine returned with a plate for herself and a cup of tea. “Starting to?” She pointed to his food. “Eat or we call in until you are caring for yourself properly.”

“You’ll babysit me?”

“…If you act like a baby.”

Elizabeth’s phone went off and a beat later she was muttering under her breath.

“Blake or Russell?” Nadine turned in her seat.

“Russell.” She abandoned her own food, kissing each of them. “I have to go, you good getting in on your own?”

“I’m fine.”

“I love you both. You do as you’re told, Mister. I’ll see you at work.”


	9. Chapter 9

The diner is tiny, the old plate glass window thin and letting the cold seep through. She’s been here an hour, bundled deep into her coat, hands clinging to a mug of coffee. Finally, she catches sight of a familiar gate rushing across the slushy street, hands shoved deep into pockets as they dodge mountains of snow spilling onto the sidewalk. It’s the most snow this part of Massachusetts has seen in two decades. She hasn’t felt warm in weeks.

The bell over the door rings as he pushes it open, letting a gust of frigid air in and earning him half a dozen dirty looks. She likes this place for the nostalgia. It reminds her of her childhood in some ways.

Unsnaking his scarf from his neck, his eyes scan the room, but she doesn’t draw his attention. It’s the first time she’s seen him in person in nearly a decade and she wants to savor the moment for just a second longer.

His eyes pass her and then snap back, a grin lighting his face as he waves off the waitress and slides into the booth across from her. “Have you lived here the whole time?” His eyes don’t stop taking her in.

Her lips twist into an approximation of a smile, managing part of one on one side of her mouth. “Most of it.”

He shakes his head and chuckles in his chest, light eyes dropping a moment to the table. “We all searched-”

“I figured.” She cuts him off, making him pause and stare at her.

“…Why?”

“It was for the best.”

His eyes are the same- gentle, caring. “Then why now?”

She’s not ready to answer that question, so she doesn’t. “How is everyone really? Obviously I know what the media says and…” She looks out the window. “I know how to read between the lines.”

“Daisy and Matt got married.” He pauses but she doesn’t turn back to him. “Blake was engaged but broke it off. He’s…”

When he trails off, she makes a guess. “Married to his job?”

“In love with someone else.” _That_ forces her attention back on him. “He’s floundering in a missed opportunity.” He doesn’t elaborate though. “As for the family… Jason works in New York and Stevie is still in DC making the best of a marriage it’s obvious she’s not happy in.”

A minute of silence passes and she realizes he’s making her ask. “And Henry and Elizabeth?”

“You should ask them yourself.”

“I can’t do that.”

His cold hands wrap around hers around the mug and her shoulders raise at the sudden physical contact, but she doesn’t pull back. She isn’t afraid of him or his touch, there are no more gentle souls on earth than her former coworkers and she has always known she could trust them with her life. “They’re heartbroken, obviously. But with the country watching…”

She understands what he doesn’t say. It’s hard to mourn publicly.

“You broke their hearts when you left and now… now they’re mourning and it’s somehow worse because it’s making them miss you more.”

She swallows back the lump forming. “The televised memorial was beautiful.”

“The private one had an empty chair.”

“What?” It’s out without her permission.

His nod is slow. “They had a chair beside Elizabeth, just in case… She spent the whole service looking at it and… She cried, but it was for you as much as for the day. She was crushed that you didn’t turn up for that.”

This meeting was a mistake. On an impulse, she’d tried the old number she’d had for him and he’d called back late into the night, agreeing to take a day to come meet her. “I shouldn’t have called. I- I’m sorry.”

One hand pulls away and she sits frozen as he reaches across the table, pushing aside the lapels of her coat and following the chain around her neck until he’s at the ring dangling on it. “She still wears her too. Drives the stylists mad because every outfit and dress has to account for hiding it. She won’t take it off.” He gives it a slight tug. “Give it here.”

She obliges, handing it over before watching as he unthreads the ring and slips it on her finger.

“They still love you. You still love them too or I wouldn’t be here now.”

She hasn’t tried the ring on in years and now can’t take her eyes away until she has to blink to clear her vision.

She’d left to save them all, to save their careers and to allow Elizabeth to become president. It was supposed to be easy. She’d never anticipated missing a funeral in the process.

She knows now that what she did was wrong, she just hopes she hasn’t ruined her chance at fixing it. “Jay, I- I want to go home.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Nadine?”

“In here!” Her voice echoes hollow and tinny around her head, but she keeps her focus on what she’s doing, only half-listening to Henry’s footsteps as he enters the laundry room.

“What are you doing?” He hands land first on her ass, because there was no way he could resist, and then move to her hips.

She’s across the dryer, leaned half-in the washer, because it’s still a top-load, stretching in to fish small pieces of jewelry out of the bottom. “Something went through the wash that shouldn’t have.” She lifts up just enough to pass him a pair of earrings. “Take these.”

“And that requires you to do…this?”

Nadine sighs, not resisting a soft chuckle. “I tried to get them by just leaning in, but…” She pushes up again, passing him a delicate, and now very knotted, necklace. “I was too short.”

He grips her hips, fingers curling around her pelvic bones, and tugs her off the dryer, landing her on her feet. “Anything else?”

“A few bobby pins, which aren’t mine, we have to stop Elizabeth putting them through the wash.”

Henry leaned in and fished them out, handing everything back to Nadine. “I’ve been trying that for years.” Hands free, he pulls her close, hands on her ass again. “I think the necklace is done for.”

“No, I can unknot it.” When he leans forward, she kisses him. “I’ll work on it while you make dinner.” She starts to turn away, but he stops her.

“I love you.”

Her cheeks still warm anytime he says it and she suspects that won’t change anytime soon. “I love you too.”


	11. Chapter 11

Concerned, Elizabeth stepped to Nadine’s side, fingertips barely brushing the back of her blouse. “Are you sure you’re okay with doing this?”

There was a small nod she’d come to understand as a sign Nadine was anxious. It had a way of making her look meek. “Yes.” She drew a breath and forced it out. “I’ll be okay.”

Her fingers trailed up again and to her bare shoulder, stopping only a second on her warm skin before slipping to her elbow. She turned, ducking her head a bit so they were nearly face to face. Her voice dropped to a whisper despite them being the only two in the room. “Talk to me.”

“I feel such a fool.” Her eyes stayed for a moment longer on the city beyond the large plate window before, oh so slowly, lifting to meet Elizabeth’s. The brown of them failing to hide the current of emotions she was feeling. “How’d I get involved in this?”

Elizabeth was close enough to watch every minute tell in her face; the way her nose twitched the slightest bit before her upper lip pulled down and her lips pressed together, the way lines creased at the corners of her eyes as the muscles of her throat corded as she drew a small, sharp breath. Her hand stays on Nadine’s elbow, the single point of comfort. “Life… love… every choice is a millimeter off our original course. A millimeter is nothing, no one gives it a thought. The problem is, eventually, one millimeter is one million millimeters…” She drew a steadying breath of her own. “Love makes us forgive a lot of millimeters.”

Nadine’s mouth opened the smallest amount, as if she’d been about to say something but stopped. Her eyes returned to the view. “Is that… Is that why you’re here instead of on the phone with the AG preparing to send me to prison for the remainder of my life?”

“Nadine…” It came out as little more than a breath.

“A million dollars and thirty years in prison, that’s without the international aspect… That’s a lot of millimeters.”

Unsure how to respond, Elizabeth leaned her forehead against Nadine’s temple. “Double jeopardy should apply.”

Nadine scoffed, the sudden sound loud to their ears.

“Even if you lose your freedom, your job, whatever else you could lose… You lost someone you were in love with in a very sudden and traumatic way… You shouldn’t have to also lose whatever this could be.”

“H- how does Henry feel about all that?”

She knew what Nadine meant. “He’ll tell you that Ethics tends to be less black and white and more gray. He’ll also tell you that love must always be absolute for it to be love.” She pulled back. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Nadine finally turned to her, cupping her cheeks and bringing their faces together. “I’m learning to be.”


	12. Chapter 12

Curled in the corner of the window seat, she watched the last of the sunset fade into black, the smell of spring blossoming on the trees drifting in through the slightly open window. Tonight she was alone here, Henry and Elizabeth were at an event at the White House, she’d barely seen either of them since breakfast.

She’d been pulling double duty with Elizabeth out all day, covering extra meetings plus her own packed schedule and then there’d been the chaos determined to blow up in the African Affairs department, she’d nearly sent the whole lot of them packing just to get a little peace. She’d come home exhausted, hungry, and looking for arms to fall into only to remember as she stepped into the silent house that no one else would be home for hours yet.

For the first time in a long time, she felt the pang of loneliness.

Shifting position, Nadine stared up at what she could see of the stars. It wasn’t like being on the farm where she could stare up at an endless sky, light pollution hid all but the most determined stars. Drawing a breath, she felt her eyes begin to burn with tears demanding to fall. Bringing her knees to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them, laying her head to the side facing the window as her eyes closed.

It was there, with the chilly spring breeze reminding her how cold being lonely could be, that she began to cry.

Nadine had no idea how much time passed. After the tears came a dazed and almost trancelike state. She was so lost in the feeling of floating, she never noticed the sound of tires rolling to a stop on the street below or the click and thunk of car doors opening and then closing again. She didn’t notice the musical tones of good nights being bid or the slide-and-seal sound of the front door below her.

Warm hands landed on her bicep and her back, rubbing small circles. Gently, one hand nudged her to look up and then she was staring into Elizabeth’s eyes, aware it was probably obvious she’d been crying.

Elizabeth’s voice, when she spoke, was gentle. “Oh, Baby, what’s wrong?”

Her lips parted to answer, but there was no sound. Her brain was determined now to drag her to sleep.

“Scoot up.” Elizabeth encouraged her forward and then kicked off her shoes before crawling onto the window seat behind here. “I’m here, Baby.”

Nadine settled back into her embrace, some of the tension finally starting to bleed away. “I’m so tired.”

“I know.” She was rubbing her arms again. “I know you are, Baby.”

Nadine shivered against the chill now blowing in the window.

“Are you cold, Baby?” It was rare for Elizabeth to use her pet name so much, but tonight she kept doing it and each time, it made a fresh crack in the façade of ‘okay’ that she was clinging to.

“No. Not cold.” Her voice caught and when Elizabeth wrapped her into a hug, she allowed herself to sink in.

“What’s wrong?” Henry asked softly as he entered the room and crossed to them, picking up on the mood.

“Long day.” Elizabeth answered. “She’s tired and… And needed us and we weren’t here.” She pressed a kiss into Nadine’s hair. “Just one of those days, isn’t that right, Baby?”

Hearing it again made her breath catch and her chest shudder.

“Shh.”

Henry brushed his fingers alone Elizabeth’s arm. “Move up, Babe.”

They both shifted and then Elizabeth was reclined into Henry’s chest as Nadine resettled against Elizabeth’s. Two sets of arms and legs were around her, keeping her grounded. Twisting, she turned onto her side, a position that made her feel more secure, as her eyes slipped shut. Exhausted tears ran down her cheeks.

Hands rubbed her back and her arm, another carded her hair to help calm her. It was their touch that she longed for after a bad day and it was their touch that let her know she was finally home.


	13. Chapter 13

“Why do you always put me in the middle?” It’s not an accusation, but honest curiosity. And it’s entirely the wrong moment for that question to slip out, she’s standing in the middle of Elizabeth’s office in the middle of the afternoon. The question, though, has plagued her for weeks. Each time she spent an evening with Henry and Elizabeth, they always put her physically between them and she wouldn’t believe for a second it was because anything was lacking in their marriage. She’s witnessed first-hand their love for one another.

Elizabeth doesn’t seem to mind that it’s entirely the wrong place for this conversation though as she rounds the desk and stops in front of her, one hand on Nadine’s hip. “Because we both want to be close to you. Because…” She runs a finger along Nadine’s cheekbone and then down her jaw. “Because we want to care for you. Protect you. You’re our porcelain doll, so strong and so fragile.”


	14. Chapter 14

They function almost as three separate couples sometimes- _Nadine and Elizabeth, Nadine and Henry, Elizabeth and Henry._ Somehow it works when it shouldn’t and somehow there’s never any jealousy, probably because they all make a living communicating even when it’s hard.

There’s also a level of comfort now when out in public. No one seems to notice or really even care when she’s with one or both of them, she’s _just a friend_ after all. Of course, no one knows what happens after the door closes. Well, no one except Elizabeth’s security and their closest friends who are all well aware of the relationship that isn’t.

She has a date with Henry, they’ve had to cancel the last three because national security comes before romantic dinners and even though she sees him almost daily, she’s itching for this night.

Life, though, is against her. A binder on drought in Africa had landed on her desk at three and she’d gotten lost in its pages until five minutes past five when Elizabeth had sent Blake to forcibly remove her from the building. The nightmares in the binder stick with her though and she manages three wrong turns between Foggy Bottom and the restaurant, thankful that Henry is the most patient man on earth because she’s over half an hour late for their date.

“Are you sure you want to do this tonight?” They’re the first words out of Henry’s mouth when she finally turns up and _of course_ he knows something’s bothering her.

“I’m fine.” Which, she isn’t. She’s uncharacteristically anxious about the report and the long-term fallout listed within. Doomsday reports cross her desk weekly, but for some reason this one has stuck with her. “Rough day.”

“Let’s get you fed then and then we can go home and you can tell me about it.” She doesn’t live with them, not officially, though as often as she’s riding to and from work via the motorcade, she’s not sure the detail would agree with that. But _home_ universally means Georgetown, not her condo, and she’s okay with that.

“I’ll be okay, Henry.” She can’t meet his eyes when she lies to him, even though she knows it’s a tell.

His hand finds hers and he holds it until she looks up. “Take a breath.”

She does and suddenly becomes aware of just how tight her chest feels.

“You are not alone.”


	15. Chapter 15

She developed a distaste for the antics of the media back when she was a fresh-faced junior advisor right out of law school. If anything, her feelings for them had only soured with time.

“I didn’t know they were running a piece on him. I’m sorry.” It was early morning, they were in the bedroom getting dressed and listening to the news. When she didn’t reply, Elizabeth slipped an arm around her. “Maybe you should take the day.”

“What for?” Nadine huffed, turning away, not letting her eyes linger on the screen where a photo of Vincent Marsh was splashed. “It’s in the past.” The photo was public use, from a speech he’d given a month before he’d died. She’d been at his side, was visible on the screen, her face turned to him. It was impossible not to see her infatuation, what she thought was love, there.

“The past can still hurt.” She caught Nadine again, this time from behind, wrapping both arms around her. “You loved him.”

“I was a fool.” She tugged Elizabeth’s hands away and turned in her arms. “I’ll be okay. I promise.”

“We love you, remember that always.” Her eyes darted away and Nadine turned just as Henry walked in. “We always will love you.”


	16. Chapter 16

This isn’t her. She’s not the kind of person to fall apart in a staff meeting, not the kind to make a scene and run away to cry. This isn’t her, but here she is.

Her glass office door quietly opens and then clunks back into place. “Hey.”

“What is wrong with me?”

Elizabeth’s hands cup her arms from behind and then turn her. “Nothing is wrong with you, Sweetie.” She pressed a kiss to Nadine’s forehead. “Why don’t you head home for the day.”

Shaking her head, she reaches for a tissue. “No.”

“Nadine… It was your sister…”

“I- I can’t!” And like that, the sobs start again.

“Come here.” Elizabeth leads her to the sofa and pulls her down, curling them together. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”


	17. Chapter 17

He knows they play. When he’s not home, maybe even when they travel, but he knows that there’s a facet of Elizabeth and Nadine’s relationship that is generally kept just between the two of them.

Special. Just like the two of them.

He’s never tried to impose himself on that special bond, that special thing, though he’s assured them in the past that he’s in full support of whatever makes them happy and would always welcome whatever they were willing to share. It’s a special connection that has always seemed to draw them together in a way that would leave a lesser man envious.

It would explain his current state tonight.

Henry’s propped against the headboard, naked, blindfolded, hands tied at his sides. The room is almost silent except for the whisper movements of two bodies doing something he can’t make out. He can hear the soft pad of footsteps on the carpet and he strains to distinguish who is who. He thinks back, pulling up memories of watching the two of them move and guesses it’s Nadine to his left, her gait lighter and very slightly uneven as Elizabeth comes up along his right.

Hands touch his chest and it takes all his focus to know who it is. When he can touch them, he knows them apart inch by inch, Nadine is all sinew, all lines and angles that move eagerly under his touch while Elizabeth is endless curves that are like putty to him. He can tell them apart from head to toe… when he can touch.

Tonight, he clearly doesn’t get to touch.

Their hands, however, are nearly identical. Nearly. Other senses dampened, he can start to feel how one set of hands reminds him of piano strings, slender, taught. “Nadine…”

“Shh.” Her voice is close to his ear. Her body is almost brushing against him. “We’ll take care of you tonight.”

Hands move, touching gently from face to foot and then there’s something else against his skin, something breath-soft. It’s a barely-there feeling that takes him a long while to place. A feather. And then multiple feathers, all brushing randomly until his skin is alive with the anticipation of being touched.

“Look how much it’s turning him on.” The voice is Elizabeth’s. He’d always thought her voice was deep for a woman, until he’d met Nadine. He’d never been a man into shrill voices, Elizabeth’s had done something wonderful to him in their twenties and it had, seemingly, only gotten deeper with age. The first time he’d been introduced to Nadine, he’d been panicked that Elizabeth would hate his instant attraction.

They both chuckle, bringing him out of her revere, and he can hear the soft tonal contrasts, like steps in a chord. When they whisper he has to rely on other differences. Their accents are very slightly different, Elizabeth’s is more southern and Virginian and no one would ever get the Jersey Girl out of Nadine.

“You should feel how much it’s turning me on.” She’d shared once, after a rude reporter had said something hurtful one day, that she’d spent all her childhood and into college having speech therapy. That her lisp as a child had left her frequently teased and often misunderstood. Henry’d only smiled at her that night and told her he thought she sounded beautiful.

The bed shifts and then Elizabeth swears softly. “You should just take those off, you’ll ruin them.”

Nadine’s chuckle is deep. “I don’t mind.” Henry focuses on her voice, trying to work out what is happening, but then a mouth is around his cock and he gasps. He doesn’t have to think to know who is sucking him off- Nadine’s sucking technique was unlike any woman he’d ever been with in his life. Elizabeth had even asked for tips.

Lips brush his ear. “Doesn’t she have the sweetest little mouth?” Elizabeth whispers. “The way those big brown eyes look up at you while she acts like she’s having the best meal of her life. The way she can look so innocent while doing things that would put a call girl to shame.”

He gasps. He can see, even with the blindfold in place, exactly what Elizabeth means. He can see the way she rests her body between his legs, the shape of her eyes as she sweetly licks and then stretches her jaw, taking him in nearly to the root.

“Nadine, Baby, give him a break, we have a lot to do before he can come.” The bed shifts and Nadine pulls away as something else touches his skin. It’s a narrow line, not at all painful, just… there. And then the line moves.

It rolls.

Step over step, along his skin.

And then it alternates with the feathers, leaving him desperate to keep track of who is touching him where and when they will do it again. “Is this what you do?” He means to only think the question.

“We do so much more.” It seems Elizabeth will be doing most of the talking tonight. “Would you like to hear what we like?”

“Y- yes.” He really would… Really, really would.

One of them straddles his hips and it takes a second for his brain to focus enough to decide it’s Elizabeth but then it’s Nadine who speaks, throwing off his focus on his wife. Nadine who is now behind Elizabeth, her hands stroking him. “Liz loves wax.” She giggles, a sound that makes him twitch in her hand. “Oh, he’s interested in that. She also loves to be tied up and bitten, but I’m sure you know that. She likes it rough.” He does know that. “No feathers for her at all, no, she likes total sensory deprivation. No sound, no sight… hands beautifully tied up. You know… I dated a sailor when I was young. He was French. He had this terrible obsession with knots, knew how to tie over a dozen different kinds at least… He was such a bore when it came to conversation, but…” She giggled again, leaning forward. There was a moan and he wasn’t sure from who. “He wasn’t too bad in bed.” Her tone is casual, as if she’s just shared about a meal instead of a man. A part of his brain pauses to wonder if she talks like this when it’s just the two of them.

Her hands leave his prick and rub his thighs before moving up until he can feel that she’s touching Elizabeth now. “I think it’s all that power she has all day, she likes to give it up in bed. You should see her Henry when I gag her.”

He can feel the moment her fingers reach Elizabeth’s center and then he can feel as Nadine is getting her off against his stomach. For several minutes, it’s all the sound and feel of Elizabeth getting off, smearing herself against his abs until she’s panting, a high-pitched whine making him curious.

“Our Liz likes it when I get her real close and then back off until she’s come down again. I can keep her teetering on that edge for hours, Henry. I fuck her a bit and then no touching at all.” He feels as she circles Elizabeth’s clit and then pulls away, feels the way Elizabeth writhes and the small warm gush as her arousal pulsed desperately. “Liz…” It’s a whisper and then he can hear them kissing, can feel as Nadine shifts forward, pinning his prick between her coarse curls and his wife’s ass as they make out.

They finally pull apart and climb off him, leaving him feel exposed and bare. He wishes he could see, touch, anything, but it’s not his turn.

“Our Baby, Henry… Our little minx, I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you.” Elizabeth shifts at his side and then he feels her breasts by his face and turns, taking one in his mouth as she gasps. "Our Baby likes to be teased endlessly and she’s just beautiful as she gets aroused. I once- ah- Once kept her all but panting at the UN. All day long she had to face others while I kept teasing her. She had the prettiest flush to her cheeks the whole day.” She gasps again, gripping his shoulders and he wonders what is getting her so turned on. “Someone even asked if she was feeling unwell because she looked flushed.”

The bed shifts and he realizes that at some point, Nadine has resumed playing with Elizabeth.

“She can be a bit sadistic too. She likes to be spanked, Henry. Not just with my hand, though she does get turned on when she can see my handprint all red against her white skin. She likes- she likes other things too.” She moans, arching back and away from his face. “She loves her violet wand, Henry. Baby, let me come.”

“Not yet.”

“Sadist.”

Nadine give her deep, dark chuckle. “You love it. I can _feel_ how much you love it… God, I’m going to need a shower by the time I’m done touching you… Let his suck your breasts while I at least grab a towel.”

He can feel Nadine climb off the bed, but the offering of breasts to his mouth distracts him from thinking about anything else. He shifts his legs further apart, wishing he could just fuck one of them right about now, he’s so turned on. Anything at all to get some relief before his cock explodes. “Babe.” He tips his chin up. “Please… Please let me fuck you…”

She kisses him, hard, and then readjusts until he can feel her dripping center on the head of his cock. But then she doesn’t sink down, taking him in. She slides down the underside of his prick, offering not quite enough stimulation to get him off but too much to walk him back from the edge. “Can you come like this?”

“Wha- what?”

“If I tell you to, can you come like this?” There’s something in her voice that he isn’t sure how to describe. He suspects she’s hoping he’ll say yes.

“Yes. I- I think I can.” As soon as he’s spoken, she picks up the pace, adding her fingers to the other side to give him extra pressure. It’s his turn to gasp. “God, you feel so good.”

“Show me, Henry.”

He’s not even trying to move his hands anymore, there’s no point. He grips the sheet beneath him and sinks into the feeling of her stroking him, of her wet heat against him. And then he comes, expecting the feeling of his seed on his stomach… But it never happens. It’s as if he’s just come into an abyss. It leaves him confused and unsure of what is going on now.

Elizabeth shifts, tumbles backward and then he can tell by feel what’s happening; suspects what happened. Nadine is draped over him, judging by her movements, she’s now eating Elizabeth out, chin inches from his now flagging cock. Between his knees, Elizabeth writhes, swearing about Nadine’s mouth and then she comes hard but all he can smell is Nadine’s arousal.

“Two down.” Her voice rumbles and then she’s mouthing his cock and balls. “What should we do with him next?”

Elizabeth laughs. “I’m sorry. I know that wasn’t the plan.”

“Neither was eating you out. I’m not complaining about either.”

“We could… We could tell him about the other thing you love.”

They go silent and he strains to work out what’s happening, but they are masters of silent communication. After a minute, he hears them kiss and then Elizabeth moves away.

“Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Close your eyes, I’m going to take the blindfold off. Keep them closed for now, though. I promise it’ll be worth it.”

“O- okay.” Her fingers are on him, working the knot loose and then the weight is gone from his face.

“Kiss me, Henry.” Her lips are a breath from his and when he obeys, she rewards him by throwing one leg over his hips.

He wants to touch, wants to help her. He knows he’s too wide for her to hold that position for long without starting to ache, but he can’t. He’s still tied in place. Elizabeth straddles him, this time the one in back, and then Nadine moans against his mouth, low and long.

The kissing carries on and then they’re both moving. Occasionally, he can feel hands bumping him here and there, but he can’t work out what it is he’s missing.

“Shift back, Baby.”

Nadine’s lips pull free from him and her gasps rise in pitch.

“That’s it. Have a good ride… Henry, look at her. Look how perfect our Baby is.”

He flutters his eyes open and it takes a second to adjust to the light in the room, but when he does…

Elizabeth is wearing a strap-on, sitting back across his hips and in her lap, riding her like it’s the last ride of her life, is Nadine. He can’t touch, he can’t even remember to blink… He can’t speak. Nadine stretches like an octopus, limbs curving, folding, curling and reaching. She writhes, he can see her abdominal muscles as they roll her body. He can see her hip bones as they slide under her skin, her ribs as she breathes against Elizabeth’s hold.

“God you’re beautiful.” He can feel his cock coming back to life. “The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

They both look at him at that and he wonders if it will be the thing that finally pushes Elizabeth too far, if she’ll misunderstand and think he means Nadine is more beautiful when he really means the two of them together. But then she drops one hand lower and starts working Nadine’s clit until she’s coming there before him, crying out desperately.

He’s hard enough now that there’s no way they can miss it. Elizabeth unseats Nadine from her fake cock and rocks her back until she’s filled with his real one. He still can’t touch and Nadine is absolutely drenches, whining now at his bigger girth filling her already sensitive body. He’s surprised that Elizabeth isn’t giving her a break, but then his hands are free and in an instant, he has them around a narrow waist as he fucks himself into her.

“Henry…” Nadine whines his name, gripping his forearms. She’ll come quickly, this soon after the last, but he has a plan now and the freedom to execute it.

“Come again. You can do it.”

And then she does, falling into a million pieces against his chest.

He’s close, close enough that he wants to hurry. Rolling them all over, somehow Nadine ends up draped across Elizabeth’s chest, but he doesn’t care, he can reach what he needs. He buries himself into her heat, using one hand to keep from crushing them both while the other works her to her finish again. “Come on, Babe, you too.”

When she comes, they’re kissing one another, lost in the taste and feel of each other. When he comes, it’s staring down into two sets of eyes.

He drops to the side so he doesn’t crush either of them and watches as they rearrange themselves. Nadine drapes face-down across Elizabeth’s body, savoring the embrace. She shifts until her legs are tucked between Elizabeth’s knees and her arms are wrapped around her sides.

Once she’s settled, Henry pulls himself close to them, kissing shoulders before relaxing against the pillows. “I love you both so much.”

“We love you too.” Elizabeth speaks for herself as well as Nadine. “She thought you deserved something from us.”

“She did, huh?” Nadine looks almost asleep already, but he knows she’s not by the fine crease under her cheekbone, the only hint that she’s holding back a smile. “Well, I’ll always take whatever the two of you wish to give me.” A question from earlier slips through his brain. “Just one thing… what’s a violet wand?”

Brown eyes flutter open, the grin that accompanies them makes him gulp.


	18. Chapter 18

“Why can’t you look at me?”

She wants to turn around and look at her… at them… but she can’t, so she keeps staring out the window into the darkness, arms wrapped around herself.

“Nadine?”

The room goes quiet and her mind whirls with what she thinks she needs to do. She needs to quit, to leave DC, but they can’t know. They’ll try to talk her out of it.

It’s Henry who speaks next, his even voice a balm to the searing pain she feels. “No matter what, we love you and want you.”

She doesn’t want to see the heartbreak in their faces. “I can’t stay.”

“You can’t go.” Elizabeth’s voice was closer now.

“I’ll ruin everything!” She whirls around. “Don’t you get it?”


	19. Chapter 19

The White House blowing up makes news and Nadine’s talking her way through security personnel before she realizes what she’s even doing.

The hospital is crawling with Secret Service, no real surprise, but then she recognizes face after face as Diplomatic Security and her stomach drops. If she knows them… it’s because they specifically work Elizabeth’s detail.

And if they’re here…

“Where is she?” She can hear how crazy she sounds, but she doesn’t care in the moment.

Matt, the gentle giant that Nadine knows is Elizabeth’s lead agent stops her in the hall, grabs her by the shoulders in an uncharacteristic attempt to hold her attention. “Nadine…” His voice is soft and it slams into her that in all their years of knowing one another, he’s never called her by name. “She’ll be okay.”

She blinks at him, giving a small nod as she looks around at the way the agents aren’t looking at her. “Future tense.”

“She’s in surgery now to remove some shrapnel, but she was alert when she went back. Stevie and Doctor McCord are also in surgery.”

“Sta-status?”

His face turns grim. “They refused to try and guess.”

“The- the kids? Jason and Alison?”

“We sent agents for them. Jay Whitman asked that they be brought to the Truman until we know more.” He finally pulls away. “I’ll find you a private place to wait for word.”

“Tha-thank you.”

He gets a room blocked off for her and then sets two agents to make sure no one enters and she’s thankful for it. She needs space to break apart and then she breaks apart again when the possibility that there may never be someone to pick her back up hits her.


	20. Chapter 20

Letting herself back into the bed, Nadine stared for a moment at her two sleeping bedpartners. It’d been a long day, but weren’t they all, and she couldn’t relax. Couldn’t unwind.

Carefully shifting over Elizabeth, she straddled Henry’s waist and kissed along his jaw until a sharp inhale told her he was waking up.

Hands wrapped around her waist. “Nadine…” He didn’t need his eyes to tell them apart, he could do it by touch.

She rocked against him. “I can’t sleep.”

She could feel his chuckle against her core and then he was rolling them, gently tucking her against the pillows beneath him. “Can’t have that now, can we?”

“I just need to relax, Henry. Make me come?”

He kisses her and then kisses down to the top of her nightgown before backing up, pushing the hem up until he’s breathing in her scent. “Whatever my baby needs.”

At the first touch, she’s already arching, fingers in his hair. His words do almost as much to her as his mouth and she knows he knows it. Somehow, despite the two of them being closer in age than either of them are to Elizabeth, she is the one with the more diminutive pet name. Baby to their Babe. She had expected it to eventually bother her, but it never did, not the way they say it.

Elizabeth hums and then is curling into her side. “What’s going on over here?”

Henry pulls away only long enough to answer. “She couldn’t sleep again.”

“Well, we can’t have that, can’t we?”

Her heels are dug into the mattress as Henry works her over, but it’s Elizabeth kissing her as well that finally pushes her over the edge.


	21. Chapter 21

Adding water to the coffee maker, Nadine turned her head slightly, watching Alison out of the corner of her eye. She wasn’t entirely certain but suspected something was going on with the high school senior. It was almost graduation and she would have thought Ali would have been in a much more celebratory mood, but lately everything about her seemed… forced. Everything for as long as she could recall back had felt a bit like Alison was only playing a part when anyone bothered to look her way.

“Well, I have to go.” Henry’s hand reaching around and landing gently on her stomach startled Nadine back into the present. She relished the small moment as he pulled her back into a partial embrace and tipped her head up so he could press a quick kiss to her lips. “You’re back for dinner tonight, right?”

Her own smile was genuine as she looked at him over her shoulder. “I am. Elizabeth has a call at six twenty, which should take roughly twenty minutes and then she’ll be home too.”

“Are you riding with her?”

Some days she did just ride back and forth with Elizabeth. “Not today. I’ll actually be home before that. She does have a call at eight forty which I need to sit in on, but I already plan on that not running long. We have too many briefing books to get through.” She turned, leaning now against the counter. “So you and I will be on for dinner.”

Henry shook his head. “I have to sit with Russell for something at six. It might be all on you tonight.” He kissed her again quickly. “Sorry.”

Nadine gave an amused smirk. “Well in that case…”

He laughed. “Make all the mess you want, I’ll handle clean up, I promise.”

Checking her watch, she turned, watching Henry make his way through the house and out the door. They’d already put Elizabeth into her motorcade headed for the White House an hour earlier, she had to be going soon too, but first… “Alison?”

Ali’s head popped up and before she could hide it, she looked almost… sad. “Yeah?”

“Has something been on your mind lately?” When it became apparent Ali wasn’t going to answer, Nadine slowly moved to her side. “You haven’t been yourself.”

“No, I’m- I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” She sighed. “I know I’m not your parent, but if there’s anything you ever wanted to talk about, I won’t betray your confidence. I will tell our parents we talked, but I will tell them that it was with an expectation of privacy and they’ll respect that.”

“I- I have to get to school.”

“Of course.” She reached out, giving her arm a squeeze before letting her go. Listening to the front door shut, Nadine wondered of Henry or Elizabeth had noticed something different about their middle child. She’d heard before all about the laments about being the unseen child, she just hoped that by now things had changed.

=

Shifting food from pans to plates, Nadine listened with a grin as Stevie shared today’s gossip from the White House. Working on a civics paper, Jason occasionally piped in with his own opinions from the table.

“Have either of you seen Alison?” She finally asked.

Stevie pointed up. “In her room. Said she wasn’t in the mood for fish tacos.”

“Well, she needs to come eat something.”

Stevie shrugged. “I told her you’d say that. She said no.”

Nadine frowned. “You two eat, I’ll go drag her down.” Leaving the two of them to eat, she took the stairs up to Alison’s room, knocking on the door. “Alison? It’s me. Dinner is ready, you need to come eat something.”

“I’m not really hungry, Nadine.” Alison called through the door.

She debated how to respond, her worry only growing. “Can I come in?”

“…Yes.”

Turning the handle, Nadine eased the door open slowly, peeking in. “Skipping meals isn’t healthy.”

Whatever seemed to be bothering Ali lately momentarily vanished as she turned her head, raising a brow at her.

Nadine smiled. “Pot, kettle, yes I know.” She took in the way Alison was curled on her bed, textbooks around her, and stepped in, sitting near her feet. “Something has been bothering you and… I’ve seen your grades so I’m doubting it’s finals.” She tipped her head to the side, trying to work out what could be bothering her. “Alison?”

There was a second of silence and then Ali burst into tears.

Nadine quickly moved all the books and pens aside, crawling up to hold her close, stroking her hair. “Shh, it’s okay.”

“It’ll never be okay again! Everything is all broken and wrong!” She tried to calm herself, but it seemed to only make things worse.

She was on the verge of a panic attack, so Nadine skipped asking what she thought was so broken in favor of trying to calm her down. “Breathe, Hon, you need to breathe.”

Alison said something through her sobs that Nadine couldn’t make out.

“What was that?” She brushed the curtain of dark hair away from Ali’s face.

“I said- I said it would just be better if I didn’t exist. I hate this! I hate feeling like I just shouldn’t be here anymore. I- I wish I was…”

Nadine had gone very still as Alison had ranted. A ball of dread formed in her gut. Quietly, she pressed. “You wish you were what?”

She gave a hiccoughing gasp. “…Dead.”

Sweeping Alison into her arms, Nadine held on tight. “No. There is no one else in the world just like you. You couldn’t be replaced by anyone or forgotten by anyone who’s met you even once.”

“Mom forgets about me. She barely even notices me.”

“Your mother loves you more than life itself. So does your father.” She pressed a kiss into her hair. “And I know it may not feel comfortable yet, but I love you as well. I can tell you that I’m already dreading you going away to college, I’ll miss our discussions. If you were gone completely? I’m not sure I’d get past that.” Gently, she tipped Ali’s face up. “Please talk to me?”

Ali shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Why not? Whatever it is is clearly upsetting you.”

“You’ll… you’ll look at me differently.”

“There is nothing at all you could ever do that would make me think less of you.”

The room was quiet for several minutes and then Ali nodded. “Okay.”

=

Curled with her knees to her chest, Nadine sat on the bed and waited as Henry and Elizabeth both finished getting ready for bed. Debating, she pressed her toes into the mattress, rocking herself slightly for some small amount of comfort.

A hand landing on her made her jump.

“You’ve been quiet tonight.” Elizabeth crawled up to sit beside her.

Resting her head on her knees, she combed fingers of one hand through her hair. “Just thinking.”

“About?”

“There’s… I wanted to share something. It’s been weighing on me and… and I wanted to get it out there.”

Elizabeth looked up a moment as Henry joined them on the bed and then looked back to her. “Anything.”

“When I was in grad school, in law school, I went out one night with some classmates. I- I didn’t go out often, because of Roman, but on that night I- I did.” She kept her gaze on the pattern in the duvet. “We mostly kept to ourselves, but when I went to leave, a guy… a guy dragged me into an alley and raped me.” It rushed out, she didn’t want either of them to have a chance to speak before she could finish. “His defense was I’d led him on with how I’d acted, how I was dressed… That I was into it at the time.” She swallowed. “But, ah, but that wasn’t the end of it… The very brief trial was essentially a farce and then he was free to go. In the week or so after his release, I started seeing him everywhere. Coffee shop, store… it was like he was around every corner. Stalking me.”

She chewed her upper lip. “Which, he was, but stalking doesn’t really get much attention until they kill you. Especially back then… I- I attempted suicide and spent three days in observation. I- I know what you must think.” She jumped in to defend. “I had Roman, who was barely a toddler, to care for. How selfish could I be?” Her eyes squeezed shut from remembered guilt over nearly leaving her only child orphaned. “I never felt clean. I… I felt so worthless. I just wanted all of it to stop.” Finally, the dam opened and as two sets of arms wrapped her tight, she allowed herself to cry over it.

Once she’d settled, Elizabeth spoke again. “Thank you for trusting us with this.”

She was nestled now between their bodies. Limbs fully surrounding her as if she were now curled in a nest.

“Has something happened? That made you want to share now?”

Nadine kept her eyes closed, focusing on her breathing. “No. Not to me anyway.” She found their hands and held both. “I love you both so much.”

“We love you too.” Elizabeth kissed her lips while Henry kissed her shoulder. “Every part of you, no matter how painful it is to share. We’re always here for you and we’d do anything for you.”

“I know…. I would like to take the day tomorrow. Have some time to maybe take a drive somewhere.”

“Of course.”

=

Pushing the car door shut, Nadine kept an eye on Alison as the pair of them walked toward the water. It’d been a quiet hour’s drive out past Annapolis. She felt that the night before had been a bit cleansing to her soul and hoped it would leave her more able to help Alison tackle what she was going through.

“You didn’t have to take a day off for me.”

“I did.” Her answer was instantaneous. “You need me and here I am, no exceptions. If you shared with your mother, she’d be here too. The world can wait.”

“Can it?” There was clear disbelief in her tone.

“Yes. Short of nuclear war, anything else can wait or can be handled by someone else.” She pressed her lips together. “I would go so far as to say even _if_ nuclear war, but I’ve sat in the situation room before, there’d be a good chance your mother would be the only level head trying to walk things back.”

Alison cracked a tiny smile. “I know.”

Nadine sucked in the salty air and held it, staring out across the water. It was peaceful here. She wished she could take the time to stand on the beach more often.

Half an hour passed between them before Alison broke the quiet. “Nadine?”

She turned, looking over Ali. “Hm?”

“I- I don’t really want to die.”

“I know.”

“I just… How’d I let this happen to me?”

“You didn’t. You didn’t let it happen to you. That implies you gave him permission at some point, which you didn’t.”

The silence that followed was filled only with the waves and birds. “How… How did God let this happen to me?”

The question made her pause. Both Henry and Elizabeth understood and accepted her views on religion and god. She knew they didn’t force religion too hard on the kids, Henry was Catholic, but Elizabeth struggled to define the nature of her own views over all of it. As to herself, she didn’t believe in god as a singular being, but she didn’t want to impose her own ongoing struggles on Ali. “Everyone has free will and… and not everyone choses to make good choices with that.” She tried for a small moment of levity. “If they did, I’d be out of a job.”

“Thank you. For listening to me. For being here. I- I feel so ashamed of ending up a victim.” She shook her head and Nadine could see as fresh tears dripped down her cheeks. “I- I have another confession to make.”

She waited quietly. She hadn’t pressed Alison with too many questions as she hadn’t wanted her to shut down.

“I went to the hospital. I- I told them I had to stay anonymous, but I did give a name for their records.” Alison turned her face away, out to the ocean. “I told them my name was Alison Tolliver. I- I don’t know why. I didn’t want it all over the news and if I used McCord it would’ve been.”

Nadine closed the few feet between them, pulling Ali into her arms. “It’s okay. You did what you needed to feel safe.”


	22. Chapter 22

“Hey.” A gentle hand shaking her shoulder accompanied the single, soft word.

Nadine pushed back to a seated position, one hand pressing her eyes while the other tried to work a crick out of her neck. “Anything?” Hospital chairs were a pain to fall asleep in, but there was nowhere she’d rather be.

“Not yet.” Elizabeth gently rubbed her shoulder. “She’s asking for you though.”

That made her look up. “Me?”

She nodded. “I knocked to see if they needed anything. Blake said she asked if you could come down there.”

“Oh.” She got to her feet, stretching her back before looking around. It was late, Henry and the other two kids were sound asleep in other chairs.

Elizabeth tugged her close for a moment, tucking their faces together before kissing her quickly. “I love you.”

Her easy admission made Nadine smile softly. “I love you too.”

“We’ll be grandparents soon.”

Her voice caught and all she could do was nod, squeezing her hand before pulling away. “I’ll go see what she needs.” Quietly, she walked down the hall until she found the right room and knocked lightly.

“Come in.” Blake’s voice sounded from inside.

Letting herself in, Nadine looked them both over. Blake looked tired, no surprise as they’d all be at the hospital for coming on fourteen hours, but he was still focused on his wife and her needs. Stevie just looked over the whole process. Nadine couldn’t really blame her for that. “You wanted me?”

An exhausted smile appeared on Stevie’s face as she reached out one hand and Nadine started toward her to take it. “I think it’s getting close to time. I wanted you here for the birth.”

That surprised her. “Me? Are you sure? Your mom would love to be in here with you.”

Stevie was already shaking her head. “We talked to her and I explained what I wanted… and why.” She gripped Nadine’s hand. “Mom and Dad, they were there for everything else for us, but you haven’t been. I wanted you here for this. You are family too.” Her eyes closed and she hissed, breathing slowly as she pulled her feet up so her knees were bent.

Instantly, Nadine rubbed her arm with her free hand. “Shh. Breathe slowly, that’s it.” She watched the monitor on the other side of the bed. “It’s almost over, keep breathing…. There you go.” She smiled down at her. “It looks like they’re coming close together now.”

“Every few minutes.” Blake finally spoke up. He had one hand on her still raised knee. “The doctor should be in soon to check her again.”

Stevie shifted in the bed. “I’m ready. I can’t get comfortable at all.” She turned back to Nadine. “Baby is still kicking up a storm in there.” She tugged Nadine’s hand and placed it on her stomach. “Feel it?”

She grinned. One of her favorite parts of Stevie’s pregnancy had been getting to feel the baby move around. “Any guesses on a girl or a boy?”

“We both think boy.” Stevie tensed again, breathing carefully. “Blake?”

“Yes?”

“I think maybe you need to go find the doctor.”

He was instantly on his feet and out the door. Both women watched him disappear before Nadine turned back to her. “You okay?”

Stevie panted, doing her best to sit up a bit more. “Yes… No. I think it’s time though.” She reached her hand out and Nadine caught it. “I’m scared.”

“I know.” She rubbed Stevie’s back. “But soon you’ll have that baby in your arms and you won’t remember any of this.”

“Really?” She looked up hopefully.

Nadine couldn’t help chuckling. “Well… eventually you forget it. Otherwise women would always stop at one.” She watched the way Stevie tensed and, even after all the decades, recognized it for what it was. “Don’t bear down just yet, try to breathe until the doctor gets here.”

“I’m trying. I don’t think I’m really in control of it anymore.”

“I know. Blake will be back any second though.” She brushed Stevie’s hair back from her face. “Just try and relax and I promise everything will be fine.”

Blake picked that moment to step back in, a nurse following on his heels. “How are you doing?” His singular focus was on his wife, who was working on focusing on her breathing.

Nadine answered for her. “It might be time to push.” She kept ahold of Stevie’s hand and reached out, doing her best to offer a comforting touch. She kept her place as the doctor finally turned up and it was confirmed that Stevie was ready and the room was broken down for delivery.

There was a feeling of pride that filled her chest watching the way Blake supported his wife, the way Stevie bravely kept her focus as their first child came into the world. A half hour of pushing later and Nadine felt tears of joy slip from her eyes as a tiny baby was laid on Stevie’s stomach. She searched for the answer to one final question. “It’s a girl.” Stevie turned her way and she repeated it. “You have a girl.” The excitement of the room overwhelmed her and she reached out, helping towel off the newborn while Blake cut the cord.

A nurse took the baby to the side to be looked over, weighed, and measured. Blake’s arm around her, guiding her to the little bassinet to watch the proceedings, surprised her. There was a look of awe and wonder on his face. “I can’t believe she’s here.”

Nadine hugged him. “Congratulations. What’s her name?”

“We picked Harper for her first name.”

“No middle? I mean, you don’t have to have one… I don’t.”

He didn’t answer until baby Harper was swaddled and he could pick her up. Immediately, he carried the baby back to Stevie and placed her in her arms. “We want her to have one, we just… We wanted you to get to be a part of her life. You’re going to be her grandmother and we wanted that to be something special for the two of you.”

Stevie looked up from her daughter’s face and lifted the baby, handing her to Nadine. “We want you to pick her middle name.”

It’d been a long time since she’d held a baby so tiny, but the muscle memory was still there. She tucked Harper into the curve of her arm and stared. There was downy blonde hair peeking out from under her hat and she had a tiny button of a nose. She stared for so long, she didn’t notice when Blake slipped out to share the good news and then slipped in again. A part of her never wanted to turn loose. Eventually, she looked up at the parents. “Eleanor. Harper Eleanor.” She swallowed against the choked up feeling. “She’s beautiful and I… I’m at a loss for words.” Gingerly, she passed Harper back to Stevie and then leaned in, kissing her cheek as the door opened again and Elizabeth and Henry rushed in with Alison and Jason right behind them.

They all cooed over the baby and shared their congratulations to the appropriately proud parents and Nadine stepped out of the way, watching the celebration. Eventually, Elizabeth spotted her against the wall and pulled her into a kiss. “We’re grandparents.” She whispered as their foreheads came together. “She’s here and we’re grandparents.”

Nadine glanced over Elizabeth’s shoulder. Alison and Jason were seated either side of Stevie, staring happily at their new niece. Blake stood to the side wearing the grin of a very exhausted, very proud now papa. Henry looked like a pretty proud papa too, staring at his daughter cradling the daughter she’d just brought into the world. “She is here.” She threaded their fingers together. “I’m not sure I have ever loved you more than I do right now.” She lifted Elizabeth’s hand and kissed the back. “Look at our family.”

Elizabeth pulled her into another kiss. “Our family. Our growing family.”


	23. Chapter 23

Henry let himself in the front door, brushing snow off his shoulders as he began unzipping his heavy coat.

_“…Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose. Nothin’, it and nothin’ honey, if it ain’t free..”_

He paused and listened a moment the voice singing somewhere deeper in the house. It was rare that Nadine really belted any song, she’d hum often enough or even sing softly to the radio, but as she was doing now…

Bending down, he slipped his shoes off so he wouldn’t make noise walking through the rooms. He loved hearing her sing and wasn’t ready to make himself known.

_“…Through all kinds of weather, through everything we done. Yeah, Bobby baby kept me from the cold…”_

The light in the pantry was off, so Henry crept through and to the kitchen doorway. He could hear now the music playing, from her phone by the sound of it, which she was singing along to. A smile formed on his face as he watched the way she moved in her seat at the table.

She looked happy, lost in her own world of music. Henry wished he could make it last forever. Doing the next best thing, he remained hidden until the song had finished.

“Nadine.”

She startled, jumped, and then fumbled for her phone to cut the music off. “When’d- When’d you get home?” She flamed red.

“Just after the first verse I believe.” He strolled through the kitchen in her direction. “I was enjoying listening.”

“Oh…” She ducked her head. “It was nothing.”

At the table, he reached for her phone, thumbing through until he found one he liked. Placing it back on the table, he hit play and then offered his hand, tugging her to her feet.

Nadine followed his lead as they began to dance, tipping her head at the opening chords. “What’s this one?”

Henry smiled, tugging her close. “Just wait.” The singer started and he sang along the first line, watching her face as the song clicked in her mind. _“Hey, where did we go? Days when the rains came…”_

With a joyful giggle, she joined in. _“…Down in the hollow, playin’ a new game…”_

Together they laughed, dancing and singing until they got to the chorus. He leaned in close so she would understand he was singing it specifically for her. _“…You, my brown eyed girl.”_

Nadine blushed, ducking her chin even as she kept staring up at him.

She didn’t pick up singing again and Henry serenaded her until the song ended before tipping her chin up again to kiss her. “I think that’s my song for you now.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Nadine lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed him back. “I love you.” Her arms went around his neck as his tightened around her waist.

“I love you too.”


	24. Chapter 24

The room was sweltering, with power out in the whole city, there wasn’t anything keeping the oppressive heat at bay. They’d both already shed all they could afford, but even still, she could feel sweat track its way down her breastbone. “Liz.” Even saying her whole name felt like too much effort now. They were trapped, barricaded into their rooms while security maintained a perimeter outside in the hall. Ten feet away huddled the rest of the team.

Beside her, Elizabeth’s thin blouse stuck damply to her body, making her curves even more pronounced. “We’ll be okay, Nay. I promise.”

“If we don’t get out of this…”

“We will.” A sweaty hand gripped hers. “We’ll all be going home.”

A bomb exploded somewhere outside the building, making the walls shake. “That was close.”

“Henry’ll come personally if he has to, we’ll get home.”

They were both seated on the floor, backs against a reinforced wall, not that it would hold up to a bomb blast, but it was all they had now. “I just want you to remember that I love you.” She was done. Done hiding, done lying and keeping secrets. If she was going to die in this hellhole, she was going to do it as honestly as she could.

“Nadine.” It sounded like a gasp and then Elizabeth was pulling her close, crashing their lips together as hard as she could. “I love you too, but we’re not dying today.”

“You can’t know that.”

The building shook again and then their world went dark.


	25. Chapter 25

“Come on, harder.” Her voice was so quiet, it was little more than air. She canted her hips back, giving him a better angle to plow into her. His fingers dug into her hips. “That’s it.”

“Who would…” He bit back a grunt as her walls tightened around his dick. “Who would’ve thought this would make you so hot.” His chuckle was silent. She was in front of him, bent over and leaning on the vanity in Elizabeth’s private bathroom. They’d both hidden there when Russell had stormed in, Blake hot on his heels as always. One thing had quickly led to another and now his pants and boxers were around one ankle, Nadine’s underwear were shoved in his pocket, and her pencil skirt was bunched up over her ass.

From the waist up, they were both still fully dressed.

“Who doesn’t love the risks of office sex?”

“Are you close?” He really hoped she was.

Shifting her balance, Nadine began circling her own clit. “Close enough.”

“I’m- I’m going to-” He grunted again, doing his best to held off just a second longer. “I’m coming, Nadine.”

The feel of him filling her was all she needed to finally come as well.

Henry pulled away quickly, carefully flipping on the tap and grabbing some toilet paper to clean himself up. “Good?”

Nadine turned, looking him over appraisingly. “Better.” She needed to clean up as well, but single-ply toilet paper wasn’t going to cut it. She rolled her skirt so it didn’t accidently slide back into place and grabbed the washcloth hanging on a rail. She’d have to make sure it went in the dirty linen container immediately, but it would handle cleaning her up. “I think it’s all clear out there.” She was mid-clean when Henry pulled her close, pressing a searing kiss to her lips even as one hand was still occupied between her legs.

“I love you.”

She smirked but didn’t reply, not that he was expecting her to.

“I think Elizabeth’s alone now.” He leaned against the door. “I don’t hear Russell or anyone else.”

“Have a look.” She watched as Henry cautiously opened the door and looked around before stepping out and shutting the door again. Alone, Nadine focused on the task of getting herself back in order. She’d just realized that Henry hadn’t returned her underwear when the door opened again. “You took my underwear, I need them.”

“No, you don’t.” Elizabeth spoke, surprising her as she slipped in and re-locked the door. “Henry’s on the couch waiting, the doors are both locked… I want my turn now.”

“You’re turn?”

Her look was almost predatory. “I want to watch you come too.”


	26. Chapter 26

Sipping her flute of champagne, Nadine watched the crowd milling about. They were at the White House tonight, celebrating something or other, some days she could barely keep track. The dinners and parties all began to merge into one. It was a family affair, this one, not only was Henry with them tonight, alternating dancing between Elizabeth and herself, but Stevie was in attendance as well.

Nadine spotted Stevie walking her way and smiled until she realized she wasn’t really smiling back. “Everything okay?” She asked once Stevie was close.

Stevie had her arms folded across her body and looked almost on the verge of tears. “Can I talk to you?” She whispered, leaning close. “It’s… kind of an emergency.”

Her brows pulled together as she glanced around, taking Stevie gently by the elbow and guiding her toward the door into a side hall. “Are you okay?”

“I- um-” She flamed red. “Is there somewhere… private?”

Nadine couldn’t fathom what emergency would have Stevie coming to her when both her parents were in attendance, but she didn’t stop to ask anything further. Instead, she kept a gentle hand on Stevie as she worked her way up the hall, testing door handles until one turned easily. “In here.” She rubbed her back a bit as the door shut and she locked it for good measure. “What’s going on?”

Stevie blushed again. “I- um- one of my bra inserts leaked and it’s this gel stuff and it’s made this mess, but I can’t just throw them away because then my dress won’t stay in place right and I…” Her voice wavered. “I don’t know what to do.”

It took Nadine a second to catch up, but when she did, she couldn’t help feeling for her. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “First, let’s get you cleaned up.” Instead of making for the door again though, she began checking cabinets and drawers. “Can I ask you a question?” She glanced back, watching as Stevie nodded. “Why come to me instead of your mom?” She and the girls got along well enough, but it surprised her that Stevie had picked her.

Stevie shrugged. “I was going to go to her, but…” She mumbled something.

“What was that?”

“I didn’t know if she’d understand… Having to use something to stuff in my dress to make it fit right.”

“Ah.” An amused look crossed her face. “You’re probably right in that one.” Finally finding who she was looking for, she turned. “Let’s go find a bathroom and I’ll help you get sorted out. The fabric of that gown is quite thick, that’s actually helpful.” She waved down to her own silk sheath dress. “Something like this can be a nightmare to pad.”

Quietly, she led Stevie further away from the party to a bathroom she knew was tucked down a dim hallway. Once they were both inside, she locked the door. “How much help do you want cleaning up?”

“Um, could you get the zipper? I think I can just use these those paper towels to wash up enough until we get home.”

“Okay.” Nadine stood behind her and pulled the zipper down, backing away as Stevie shimmied the bodice off enough to wash the gel off her skin and throw away the leaking insert. “Remind me tomorrow, I’ll show you the website I shop from.”

“Website?”

When Stevie turned, she gave a small shrug. “For shapewear. It’s more expensive, but in all my years, I’ve never had any of it fail. It’s not as cumbersome as some other brands either.” She gave her a conspiratorial smile. “Not all of us need boned panels.”

Stevie laughed. “No, we don’t. That’d- that’d be nice though. Thank you.”

“Now-” Nadine folded a stack of tissues together. “Normally, which I’m sure you know, tissues are about the worst thing to use because it doesn’t move naturally, but with the weight of your dress plus how tight it is, your chest would have no movement anyway. Here, this should be the right thickness to balance the other side.”

Stevie took the tissue pad and put it inside her strapless bra, shifting everything around to settle it into shape. “Look okay?”

Nadine crossed her arms this time. “Looks balanced. The real test is zipping you back into the dress as seeing if anyone can tell there’s anything different.”

Stevie turned around and let Nadine zip the dress back into place. As she turned back again, she looked down at her dress. “I think it worked.”

“Of course it worked.” She chuckled. “That’s four decades of bra stuffing experience at play right there. Ready to get back to the party?”

“I think so.”

“Let’s go.” Nadine opened the door and ushered Stevie back into the hall. She kept one hand on her back as they walked the halls, steps not rushing.

Once they were at one of the entrances back into the dinner, Stevie turned back to her. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome. I- I hope you know, you can come to me with anything. I’m here for all of you just as much as your parents are.”

She was surprised when Stevie hugged her and then quickly kissed her cheek. “I know. You’re our little mama.” A flash of a bashful smile flitted across her face before she ducked into the party.

Alone, Nadine let her hand touch the spot Stevie had kissed as her last two words played over in her head.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is pre-relationship. It also has themes of abuse. A bit dark.

As her staff rushed out of the conference, room, Elizabeth spoke up. “Nadine? Could I see you in my office when you have a chance?” She watched as her new Chief of Staff paused, turning to face her in the open doorway. “Of course, Ma’am.”

She sat back in her chair a moment, watching as Nadine strode away. In the few short months since she’d taken the job, she’d gotten to know most of her staff well enough. They’d warmed to Blake first and he’d been a bit of a bridge to getting Matt, Daisy, and Jay liking her, but Nadine… Elizabeth shook her head. She would’ve started taking it personally, but as she asked around, she learned that Nadine held herself apart from everyone else, so it wasn’t personal.

No one really knew anything about her at all, despite working with her for several years. Jay offered that he thought she was single. He’d never noticed her on the phone to a significant other or family of any kind for that matter. He’d described her as a bit of a nomad, married only to the job and nothing else.

Gathering her things, Elizabeth headed back to her office. Years of CIA and academics hadn’t prepared her at all for the sheer volume of paperwork this job involved. Some days it felt like all she did for hours was read, hunched over her desk.

A light rapping tapped on her door. “Come in.” She looked up as Nadine entered. “Could you close the door please and have a seat?”

Nadine seemed to hesitate before doing as she was asked, perching stiffly in one of the chairs.

“I’ve been trying to get to know everyone on the senior staff. I know I hit the ground running and have been trying to create trust and connection so we can carry on doing our jobs well. I’d like you to come have dinner with Henry and I at our house on Saturday if you’re free. The kids will all be out, so we’ll be able to relax and just talk about whatever.” She honestly wasn’t sure how the invite would go and expected it to be refused.

Nadine stared at her new boss for a moment, unsure how to process what had been asked. Personal time away from the office, she knew how that went. Vincent always phrased his requests as questions, but she’d learned early on that they were orders and orders were never to be defied. “Of course, Ma’am. It would be a pleasure.” She hoped Elizabeth didn’t catch the tiny catch in her voice or the way it sounded thin as her chest constricted. It was silly, she told herself, to worry. This was Elizabeth, not Vincent, it was only dinner…

Dinner in the privacy of their home.

=

Elizabeth reached around Henry for her wine glass. “Is it almost done, she’ll be here any minute.”

He laughed. “Almost. Maybe you should ease up on the wine till she gets here? I doubt this night is going to go as bad as you seem to think it will.”

She huffed. “I need Nadine to like me. Without her, I’m a lame duck. She’s just so…” She was at a loss for descriptive words. “Serious. All the time. I swear, nothing makes her crack.”

“I’m sure she’s not that bad.”

“Wait till you see her resting death glare.” She sipped her wine. “Of course, that’s not what I heard Matt call it, but I’m trying to be polite.” The phone rang and she placed her glass down as Henry answered it, knowing it would be security announcing Nadine’s arrival. “Just you wait, Henry. You’ll see.”

Anxiously, Nadine stared straight ahead at the front door and waited. She hated that the agents milled about on the sidewalk. She knew them, and they her. She often wondered what they knew, _really_ knew about before. The door opened and she clenched her teeth, forcing a smile on her face as her eyes raised as far as Elizabeth’s shoulder. She was only too glad that it was her and not Henry answering the door, but then they probably knew the rules.

“Come in, Nadine. Henry’s just in the kitchen. Here, let me take your things.”

Elizabeth was touching her before she was ready or even really aware and she flinched, jerking away quickly before ducking her head in embarrassment. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was soft. She knew better! With Vincent, she knew what came next if she made such a mistake, but here, this new situation, she had no clue what would be expected of her to make up for it. People were allowed to touch her, whether she was in the mood or not. He’d told her on more than one occasion how pretty she was, how people liked to touch pretty things.

Elizabeth brushed it off. “It’s okay. I thought you saw me in your space. I’ll introduce you to Henry.”

Nadine followed silently through the house to the kitchen. Henry was as big as Vincent and even more imposing with his military build. She knew this routine, hands folded primly in front of her until Elizabeth made the introductions and then she could simply vanish into the background for a bit. She didn’t expect Henry to walk directly toward her. She took a step back, back hitting the doorframe as he put his hand out. She almost suppressed the wince of anticipation, keeping her eyes averted. She’d always hated this part, the not knowing what to expect. Would they lead her on with kindness or simply list what they wanted from her?

Henry paused, glancing to his wife. Elizabeth had always described Nadine as solid, confident, and unwavering. This first impression of her he was getting was much different. He took his own step back, giving her space, but her eyes never lifted from the floor. “It’s good to meet you, Nadine.

He watched her give a small nod. “You as well.” He couldn’t believe this soft-spoken woman was that same one his wife described as ruling the entire seventh floor and leaving staffers quaking in their shoes. There had to be some mistake.

Turning back to the kitchen, he retreated slightly. “I kept dinner simple tonight. Elizabeth said you like salads, so I made that with avocado slices and I have some grilled chicken as well if you’re interested.”

Nadine studied the kitchen in her periphery, not risking looking outright. It didn’t sound like a trick, but then sometimes it was hard to tell. “That sounds lovely.”

“Well, if you want to have a seat at the table just through there, I’ll finish bringing everything in. Babe?” He watched Nadine slip into the dining room before he tugged Elizabeth toward the den. “Are you sure this is the same person you always talk about?” He kept his voice as soft as possible to avoid being overheard.

“I swear I’ve never seen her like this before. Maybe she’s just tired?” Elizabeth leaned back to look through, watching the way Nadine sat waiting on them, hands folded neatly in her lap, head still bowed forward. “I’m sure once we start eating and talking, she’ll loosen up.” Deciding that was all it would take, she grabbed the bowl of salad and carried it through while Henry brought in the chicken. “Here we go, help yourself. Salad, chicken, and anything else we might want.” She took her normal seat, pausing to study Nadine before filling her own plate. From this angle, she could see that Nadine was watching her do so, looking almost cautious, her head never quite lifting all the way up.

When Henry joined them, he served himself at Elizabeth’s gesturing before making sure to set the serving dishes within reach of Nadine. Only once they’d both filled their plate did one hand slip up from her lap as she carefully put a small serving of greens on her plate and then a few pieces of chicken.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as she started eating, taking small, prim bites. “We have a few different dressings, if you want some.” He scooted the bottles, unsure if she didn’t see them or simply didn’t want any.

Her eyes darted his direction, but didn’t reach his face. She only shook her head, not answering him verbally. Outside of the polite greeting, there was no purpose is making small talk with him. She could remember the night still she’d learned her lesson about entertaining men with small talk.

Elizabeth watched the exchange with a small amount of confusion as she tried to think back to meals shared around the office, realizing then that Nadine never seemed to eat at the same time as everyone else, so she had no clue if that was normal for her or not. “I was telling Henry earlier about our meeting with Gabriel Rojas.” She kept her voice light, hoping that re-sharing the funny story would ease the odd tension Nadine seemed to be carrying. “I told him how impressive it was that you managed to put him in his place without so much as raising your voice.” She’d been proud, watching the way Nadine had had to do little more than lift a single finger to rally the troops, so to speak, to jump in and put Mister Rojas in his place, and out of the building.

Nadine carried on eating for a moment before realizing the Elizabeth had expected a response. Panicked, her mind scrambled for something to say, anything to keep from angering her. “It was nothing, Ma’am. I knew we needed to maintain your professional image and I did what had to be done.”

Elizabeth made a sound in her throat. “First, no ma’am’s tonight. Second, I wasn’t worried about what he thought of my image.” She chuckled. “Believe me, I can handle myself with obnoxious men.” When Nadine didn’t even crack a smile, she looked to Henry. “Cold you go grab that other bottle of wine, please?”

He wiped his hands and placed his napkin beside his plate. “Of course.” He understood what she wanted, a moment of privacy with the other woman, so he made himself busy out of sight.

“Is something bothering you, Nadine?”

She almost looked up, but then remembered better. Silently, she shook her head. Drawing a small breath, she worked on another bite of the salad. “Dinner is delicious, please tell Henry I said so?” That didn’t count as small talk and she knew there was an expectation that she should be gracious for the invitation and the meal.

Elizabeth smiled. “He’ll be back with the wine in just a second, you can tell him yourself.”

No doubt eavesdropping, Henry chose that moment to reappear, wine bottle open as he topped up he and Elizabeth’s glasses. “Wine, Nadine?”

She paused. Wine was the social expectation, but she was far too anxious to enjoy it, but wasting it would no doubt anger them. Not having any could as well.

“Nadine?” Elizabeth prompted after the silence stretched out.

“Only half a glass, please.”

Elizabeth watched as he leaned over to pour, not missing the way Nadine flinched again and then seemed to draw back. None of it made any sense, this wasn’t the person she’d been working with for the past few weeks at all. This was… Someone else entirely.

It was almost as if her mannerisms at the office were an act.

“So, Nadine, is there anyone special in your life? Family?” Elizabeth tried, determined to keep the purpose of the evening going.

“No… Not- not anymore.” Not since a plane falling out of the sky left her unmoored, without the one person who made sure she always knew who and how to be.

She almost had to lean forward to hear the answer. “What do you do in your free time then?” She tried another in to getting her to open up.

“No- nothing.” It dawned on her that this should be reciprocal. He’d beat into her the importance of remembering that. “And- and you?” Give nothing of herself, but keep the other person talking. They’d never see her secrets if they talked about themselves.

Elizabeth hoped it was a sign that Nadine was relaxing. “I don’t get much time.” She chuckled. “But I like being with my horses every chance I get. Have you ever ridden horses?”

Nadine shook her head. “No.” The idea of ever getting to do something so dangerous as riding horses was almost laughable.

Reaching for another roll from the bread basket, Elizabeth looked around the table. Nadine had started out with significantly less food on her plate, but had already placed her fork and knife across the side. “Do you want anything else to eat? Henry made these rolls from scratch and there’s more avocado and chicken…”

“No, thank you.” She’d counted carefully just how much she’d eaten.

“That’s okay, just wait until you see what dessert Elizabeth picked out.”

Henry suddenly rejoining the conversation made her flinch visibly and tears instantly burned her eyes at the error. “I’m sorry.” Her voice dropped even softer.

Henry shot a look at Elizabeth. Nadine’s entire demeanor had worried him since she’d turned up, but somehow this felt… worse. If he didn’t know better, he’d say she looked about ready to start shaking. Unsure what else to do, he started clearing away dishes so he could bring out the dessert. Not wanting to upset Nadine further, he spoke. “Nadine, would you like me to take your plate to the kitchen?”

The kindness in his question made her almost look up at his face in shock. She appreciated the warning that he would be taking her plate, but to ask if she was done or if she wanted him to take the plate instead of her, those were the most shocking. “Yes, p- please.”

“Not a problem. Give me just a second.” Henry wasn’t surprised when Elizabeth slipped in after him under the guise of helping carry things.

She leaned in close so her voice wouldn’t carry. “Do you think something’s wrong? I mean… Even if she’s just painfully shy in social settings, that’s…” She didn’t finish.

He had to agree. “She flinches every time I go near her.”

“She did when I tried to take her things when she arrived too.” She drew a careful breath. “I thought you were going to make her cry a minute ago.”

“Yeah.” He passed her the brownies that were nicely cooled and the bowls before collecting the ice cream and toppings, carrying everything back to the dining room.

“We have warm brownies, ice cream, and four different sauces.” Elizabeth announced. “Strawberries cut up, and peanut.”

Her eyes widened at what was being laid out.

“One of Elizabeth’s favorite desserts.” Henry tried to keep his voice light as he placed a bowl near her.

“I can’t have that.” It slipped out and she gave a small gasp. “I- I mean, no thank you, I’m full.” She stood from her chair. It was a misstep that had been too egregious. This whole evening had left her at a loss for what she was supposed to be doing. “I- I should go. Thank you for dinner.” She rushed through the front room, reaching for her bag.

Henry saw the panicked and concerned look on Elizabeth’s face and stepped to the doorway, fearing that what he was about to do was going to work too well. “Nadine, stop.” He didn’t say it hard, but still, she froze in place.

His heart sank.

“Nadine, put your bag down and come back in here.”

Gingerly, the book was placed back on the table. Once she walked close enough, he could see she was trembling.

“Sit down.”

When she complied, he exchanged another look with Elizabeth who appeared to be at the beginnings of catching on.

He knelt down beside her chair so he was looking up at her face. Her eyes were screwed shut. “Who said you can’t have any of this dessert?” He matched his volume to what hers had been all evening.

She shook her head. He realized then that the non-answer was still an answer. If she’d had no idea what he was talking about, she would have acted confused. This… this was something else entirely.

“Look at me.” Her eyes opened and she flicked her gaze to him for a split second. “Do you know the other rules?” His mind drifted back to a woman he’d encountered during one of his first intelligence assignments. The best witness to their man’s illegal activities had been the woman he’d kept under his control. “I only know some of them.” The other woman, he remembered, had only finally opened up once she felt secure and some of that security had required him to pretend he understood her life.

Dark brown eyes held his gaze this time.

“Who gave you your rules?” He tried, mentally crossing his fingers.

Her breath stuttered. “V- Vincent.”

Henry nodded, wondering what she’d been doing then in the few short months since his death. He remembered the woman from his assignment had broken completely once they’d made the arrest. “How old were you when he started teaching you?”

Her hands were shaking but he didn’t reach out. “Twent- twenty-five.”

Henry looked around, spotting Elizabeth hovering in the kitchen doorway now. He knew she’d have so many questions, but right now they had to wait. “Okay.” He started to stand. “How about I go get you a glass of water?”

Nadine nodded.

Leaving her on her own, he pulled Elizabeth clear to the TV in the den just to be safe. “What do you know about Vincent Marsh?”

“I- not much. Why?”

“Did you know Nadine’s known him thirty years?”

She thought a second. “She started working for him right out of college, yes. Henry… What’s going on?”

“Do you remember my NSA assignment, the one where we were chasing the terror cell suspected to be plotting taking out those schools?”

“Of course.”

“Do you remember the woman? The one who finally broke the case?”

“The abused one? Yes, I- You said she’d been taught all these rules like it was some kind of game, but it was her reality.”

“He made her not just into a sexual submissive in the most twisted version of the word, but submissive in her whole life. It was… that’s not what that’s meant to be, but…” He wasn’t sure how to continue.

“Fine, but what’s that have to do with Nadine?”

“This is speculation, but… I would guess Vincent was doing the same to her.” She started to rush away in shock, but he caught her arm. “Whatever you say, you have to remember that that’s her reality. You can’t try to prove it wrong or anything else.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Okay.” Hurrying back to the dining room, she found Nadine exactly where they’d left her. Cautiously, she stood by the chair next to her. “May I sit here?”

Nadine nodded and Elizabeth sat down, offering one hand on the table, not pushing her.

“You and Vincent were close?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Were you… together?”

“For six years.”

“But he taught you rules before that?”

“He said I had to learn so I could be good. He was very patient with me.”

She had a feeling she wouldn’t like what that really meant. She pressed on, thinking about their interactions at work and tonight. “You know the rules at work, don’t you? You’re very good at them. You know just what to do and how to be?” She drew a breath. “But now that Vincent’s dead… is it hard keeping track of the rules away from work?”

“Yes.”

Helpless, she looked up at Henry. “I’m sorry for your loss, Nadine.” If nothing else, a part of her had to still be mourning the person she’d depended on for decades. The room went silent for a moment and then Nadine began to silently cry. Unsure what else to do, she stood and held her close until she wore herself out.

When it was obvious she had exhausted herself, Henry took a seat as well. “Do you need the rules to feel better?” He watched her nod. “What if… what if you told us the rules? You’re with Elizabeth every day and you’re welcome here any time. I’m not sure we’ll keep them all, but if it’ll help?”

Nadine eyed him warily. “And the punishments too?”

“Probably not. Or… not the same ones. You’re not twenty-five anymore and I doubt you really need them, do you?”

“… No.”

“Elizabeth? Can you grab us some paper and pens?”

“Of course.” She slipped away.

Henry turned back to Nadine. “Are you comfortable with me being here? I’ll never expect anything from you that you aren’t willing to give. If you don’t want to make eye contact or be touched, that’s okay.”

“I- I… don’t want touched.”

“By me or both of us?”

“Just- just you.”

“Okay. Thank you for telling me.”

=MS=

Elizabeth crawled up to Henry’s side in bed, sagging into his embrace. In the guest room slept Nadine, too spent emotionally to head back home for the night. “Henry?”

“Hm?”

“How can someone do such horrible things to another person and… and get away with it for _thirty years_?”

He didn’t answer and then laid in silence for a while.

“Henry?”

“Yeah?”

“Sending her away to get help would destroy her, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“… But I have to anyway, right? As he boss?”

“I think so, yes.”

“What if… what if we just helped her instead?”


	28. Chapter 28

“You called for me?” Nadine leaned against the frame of Alison’s door, arms folded.

Ali held up several pieces of fabric and what appeared to be the start of a cocktail dress. “Which of these goes best with what I’ve made so far? I couldn’t decide, so I bought it all.” She huffed dramatically, a grin in place. “It’s so _hard_ fabric shopping alone.”

“Well.” She entered the room fully, laying it all out of the bed, swapping out each choice against the skirt. “I suppose it depends on what the dress is for?” It was very conservative, not normally Alison’s preference.

“Um…” Alison blushed. “I am making it for you… I thought maybe for that ceremony you’re going to with Mom and Dad in a few weeks?”

“Oh!” She looked at the beginning of the dress again. The skirt was high waisted and looked like it would come to a couple inches above her knees. From a distance it looked plain black, but up close, there was very fine paisley design to it, giving it a bit of flair. The fabric choices for the top were all solid, muted tones. “In that case… I think the lavender. The other colors are a bit too reminiscent of decades I can barely remember.”

She laughed. “Okay. I’ll finish it tonight and you can try it on probably tomorrow.”

Instead of simply leaving, Nadine sat down on the bed. “You didn’t have to make me something, but I do appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem!” Ali chirped, already laying out pattern paper against the back of the lilac fabric. “I’m happy to get to do it for you.” She looked up from her task. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to kick you out, I don’t want you to see it until I’m finished.”

“Fair enough.” She stood again, leaving Alison to her work.

The next afternoon, Nadine turned in front of the full-length mirror. The top half, the lavender chiffon, was long-sleeved, billowing nicely in all the right places as it cut to a deep V in the front and back. The skirt started exactly where she’d expected, ending at her knees now with a ruffle that hadn’t been there the day before. It was, as far as Nadine was concerned, exquisite.

“You like it?” Alison had her hands tucked under her chin expectantly. “I even had ideas on accessories. You have those black heels with all the straps that I’ve never seen you wear and if you paired it with this gold necklace…” She headed for Nadine’s jewelry box. “And then these earrings. I think you would just knock everyone dead in the whole place. You know what? You should put it all on and go down and show Mom and Dad!”

“Oh, I don’t know…” She glanced to the clock.

“It’ll be fun! Play a little bit of dress-up?”

It was hard to say no when Alison looked so eager. “All right. Go get the shoes down.” She took the jewelry and put it on, looking at her reflection before digging out a hair clip she rarely used, pulling one half of her hair up in a quick twist. She sat just as Ali handed her the shoebox.

“Wow, you go from casual at home to glam in a second flat, Nadine.”

Her words made her laugh. “Lots of practice.” She pulled the shoes up, looking up. “Would you grab my red lipstick? I suppose if I’m going to do a runway walk, I should at least make a little effort.”

Once that was done, Nadine carefully followed Alison down the stairs, watching every step as she hadn’t worn heels this high in years.

Alison called her parents into the room just as she descended the stairs. At the bottom, she paused, one hand on the railing. Both Elizabeth and Henry were speechless, making her blush. She stepped off the last step, reaching for Ali’s hand. “Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure.” She leaned in, pecking a kiss to her cheek. “Anything for my little mama.” She rushed up the stairs.

Stunned to hear that nickname again, and this time in from of the pair of them, Nadine didn’t know what to say.

Elizabeth finally crossed the space, pulling her close. “I love you and you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Alison did good showing you off in this.”

“Did you… did you hear her?”

She nodded. “I did.” She brought their heads together. “She loves you too.”


	29. Chapter 29

Loading the fresh produce into one of the canvas bags, Nadine was about to hoist it onto her shoulder when Jason reached around and lifted it away. “Oh, thank you.” She turned, smiling up at him. It still took her a bit by surprise that she had to look so far up at him these days. He was taller than even Henry now.

“Someone’s making kettle corn a few stalls up, we should get some for Mom.”

“Of course. Lead the way.” When he stepped back from the table, she followed at his side, looking into each vendor’s stall as they passed. Often, she ventured out to the farmer’s markets on her own.

“Hey.” Jason paused just outside the kettle corn stall. “I saw something I’m going to go back and get a closer look at. You carry on and I’ll catch up.” He handed her the remaining empty bag. “I promise not to get lost.” He laughed.

She hadn’t expected he’d want to split up after how eager he’d sounded when he’d asked to come earlier in the week. But then, he didn’t look as if he was slinking away now either, but like he truly saw something. “I can come with you?”

“No, no, it’s okay. Maybe we can find that funnel cake guy and get something you’ll never admit to eating.”

She always denied enjoying a funnel cake, even when the evidence, by way of confectioner’s sugar, gave her away. “Okay. Maybe we’ll find fresh lemonade too.” She watched him now and then disappear into the crowd before turning back to the kettle corn guy.

=

Every inch of the kitchen counters were covered in the fruits of their shopping trip. From green and carrots to blueberries and apples, Nadine worked her way through washing it all and getting it stored away.

Jason had disappeared upstairs as soon as the bags had all been hauled in. Nadine was standing at the sink rinsing heads of lettuce when he wandered back down. He stopped behind her, wrapping a sweet hug around her shoulders as he rested his chin on her head, making her smile. He’d taken to doing that as soon as he’d realized he was a head taller than her. “Are we having some of this for dinner tonight?”

Nadine laughed. “I fed you lunch. Are you really already thinking about dinner?” She patted his arm.

“It’s called planning ahead.” He laughed. “I didn’t know if you were cooking or we were ordering in.”

Since she’d moved in, any night Henry was too rushed to cook, she took over, citing just how unhealthy it was to rely on ordering in so much. “I am cooking. I was thinking those chicken and apple sausages your dad got yesterday and maybe those ears of corn if someone feels like shucking them.” She said it pointedly, knowing Jason would handle it just to get some of her roasted corn. “At last count everyone should be home for dinner tonight.”

“They why don’t you go do something else? I’ll finish getting this put away and I’ll shuck the corn so it’s ready.” He pulled away, digging for the corn.

When she looked over her shoulder as she reached for a towel, she was looking at his back. “The greens need finished and then it just needs properly stored away.”

“I’ve got it.” He made a shooing motion. “You’ve done enough work this morning, Little Mama, go read or do whatever it is you do on a weekend off.” Finding the corn, his attention instantly shifted to his work.

Still leaned against the counter, she watched him a moment. They’d all called her that now, casually and without any warning. She was slowly getting used to it. It made her feel good.


	30. Chapter 30

Henry rolling out of bed woke Nadine from her place in the middle. Sunlight was already streaming in through the windows. With a smirk, she caught his wrist before he got away, tugging him back. “You’re leaving me?”

He turned, resting his hands on the mattress as he leaned over her to give her a kiss. “Elizabeth is right behind you.”

“I know.”

He laughed softly. “I’m going to go work on breakfast. You two stay in bed, I’ll bring it up in a bit.”

She smiled. “Okay. I suppose, if you’re coming back.” She let him go, watching appreciatively as he pulled on a shirt before leaving the room. Arms wrapped around her body, tugging her back.

“Happy Mother’s Day.” Elizabeth pressed kisses along her neck.

It dawned on her then, it was Sunday. Nadine rolled over. “Happy Mother’s Day.”

“They’re going to spoil us all day long, so I hope you’re prepared for that.”

“Us? But I’m…” Her brows pulled together. “You’re their mother. Today is about celebrating you.” A light tap on the door had them both shifting their attention.

Stevie smiled. “Mind if I come in?”

Elizabeth pushed upright, sitting against the headboard as Nadine followed suit. Together, they were in the center of the bed. “Of course you can come in, Stevie.” She patted the bed at her side.

Rounding the bed, Stevie climbed up, kissing her mom on the cheek before stretching across to do the same to Nadine. Snuggling into Elizabeth’s free side, she settled. “We have reservations for a late lunch to miss a lot of the crowds.”

“Can we ask where?”

Stevie laughed. “It’s a surprise. But I promise, it’s a place both of you will love.”

Alison and Jason chose that moment to come in, both carrying things. Alison handed a small bouquet of flowers to Elizabeth and then to Nadine before copying her sister’s position on Nadine’s side. “Dad is just finishing up the food. Stevie and I had already started it. He said we could go ahead and give you the flowers and the gifts.” She waved for Jason to hand them the bags.

Nadine stared in surprise. “You didn’t have to get me something.”

He laid across the foot of the bed. “I saw these a while back when we were at the farmers market and called Stevie and Alison.”

Curious, she watched Elizabeth start to open hers first.

“Nadine…” Ali nudged her hand. “You need to open them together.”

“Okay.” She lifted the lid off the small box. Inside was a simple wire bracelet, nothing particularly fancy. There were plenty of handmade jewelry stalls at the markets, occasionally she had a look at what they were selling. Lifting it out of the box, she was impressed by the heft of it, it was three thick wires braided together with several charms hanging off of it. Three of them were hearts and one was a circle. “This is beautiful. Oh! There’s writing on them.”

Sure enough, each heart had one of the kids’ names on it.

“Look at the circle. What does yours say?” Elizabeth leaned closer, showing how hers said ‘Mom’ on one side.

“I don’t know.” She flipped it over and felt herself begin to tear up. “Mama.” She looked at each of the kids and then at Elizabeth. “They keep calling me that.”

“I know.” Elizabeth admitted. “They came to Henry and me months ago about it. They wanted to see how you reacted first to it.”

“We talked.” Stevie waved at her brother and sister specifically. “And we all agreed we’d love to get to call you Mama.”

Ali snuggled closer. “You do so much for us and we know just by how you are that you love us, even if you’ve not said it. We want to be able to say it to you, that we love you. You’re our Mama as much as Mom and Dad are our Mom and Dad.”

“I-” She felt herself choke up. “I don’t know what to say.” She stared at the bracelet again. A gift selected by them, for her. Not instigated by Elizabeth or Henry to give her, but something the kids had gone out and found themselves.

“Say you’ll be our Little Mama.” Jason replied, making them all laugh.

“The ‘little’ part was his idea.” Ali explained. “He justified it by pointing out you’re the smallest one in the family.”

It only took her a second to decide that it felt right. Holding out the bracelet to Alison, she lifted her right wrist. “Can you help me put it on?” Once it was secured, she looked over to find Stevie had already helped Elizabeth.

A tray of food in his hands, Henry came in. “What’s all this? The bed is full.”

The kids didn’t move, however, and he had to stretch to set the food in place. “We gave them their gifts.” Jason offered.

“Let me see.”

Both women held up their wrists.

Henry smiled. “I know just the thing that would look wonderful with those.” He slipped away again as the pair of them starting eating, with the kids’ help. When he came back, he made Jason and Alison scoot over so he could settle between them, passing small boxes over. “I will admit I had a slight idea about the bracelets when I bought each of you something.”

Exchanging a look with Elizabeth, Nadine slowly lifted the lid at the same time she did. This time there was a ring inside, three simple metal bands braided into one. Each metal was a different color. She looked over and saw Elizabeth’s ring was identical. Tugging it free, Nadine slipping it on the ring finger of her right hand, admitting how it looked.

“Come here.” Elizabeth took her hands, tugging the ring back off again. “Like this.” She slipped the ring instead on Nadine’s left hand. “Here. See?” She help up her own. “You are part of our family.” Gently, she kissed her lips before keeping her close. “You are our partner. You are their Mama.”

A happy tear broke free. Nervously, she looked around at them. At her family. “Thank you. This is- this is the best Mother’s Day I’ve ever had.”


	31. Chapter 31

Remembering the last piece of information he’d meant to share with his boss twenty minutes ago, Blake rushed back to her office before she left. As he stepped across the threshold, he froze.

Standing in the middle of the office, was Henry. That didn’t surprise him in the least, the older man had greeted him on his way in five minutes earlier. Henry wasn’t alone, however, and Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen.

Standing in the middle of the office, Henry was kissing Nadine. And not just kissing her, but properly holding her tight. Slowly, Blake looked to his right, confirming that the door had, in fact, already been standing wide open. Surely they’d known anyone could’ve just waltzed in.

Before he could react or run away, the bathroom door opened and Elizabeth stepped out, already speaking. “We better get going if we don’t want to miss our reservation.” She walked straight toward the pair who’d stopped kissing but were still linked by a few fingers of one hand.

Blake couldn’t remember how to breathe.

Elizabeth gave a small laugh. “You’ve worn your lipstick back off already. Maybe we should just start making Henry wear it and save the trouble.”

Henry chuckled, turning toward the desk, not noticing Blake’s continued presence. “I’ll pass on wearing it that way. I much prefer getting it off of one of you.”

Blake’s eyes widened to saucers.

“Wearing the same color was a smart suggestion though, Nay.” Elizabeth was still addressing Nadine. When Henry dropped Nadine’s hand, Elizabeth tugged her close. “Then no one knows it was you kissing him and no one is any the wiser when I get to kiss you.” She leaned in then, kissing Nadine as soundly as Nadine had just been kissing Henry.

After a moment, Nadine pushed her back a few inches. “Feed me first. We’ve had to cancel too many dinners this month, I expect you to take me out and show me off before you take me to bed.”

Elizabeth’s voice took on a pouty tone. “So if I don’t, you’ll go back to your condo?” Her hands started teasing along Nadine’s sides under her suit jacket.

“Maybe.” He could see her smirk.

Before Blake could remember how to make his legs work again, brown eyes were looking into his.

“Liz?”

“Hm?”

“How much do you trust Blake?”

He was certain his heart was going to stop.

He caught as Elizabeth shook her head slightly. “With my life. Why?”

Nadine leaned close, speaking quietly while never breaking eye contact with him. A second later, Elizabeth whirled around and stared at him. Nadine laughed. “I think he already has the highlights.”


	32. Chapter 32

Henry carried the last dishes to the kitchen as Elizabeth finished loading the dishwasher. “That’s it.”

“Perfect.” She accepted them and turned it on, straightening and reaching for her wine glass. “Kids all go upstairs?”

“They did.” He wrapped an arm around her. “Book or movie?”

Elizabeth hummed. “Movie. Something funny.”

“Comedy, got it.” He started tugging her toward the den. “Rom-com?”

“Maybe. If it’s a good one.” As Henry reached for the remote, she settled beside him. “What do you think she’s doing tonight?”

With a sigh, he sat back and pulled her close. “You can’t keep doing that, Babe.”

“I know… But what do you think?”

It’d been the same question almost every night for the past six months. Ever since Nadine had moved out and away, moved to the West Coast to be closer to Roman, ending a three year relationship. They’d decided that it was for the best to make a clean break.

“Probably spending time with her son and his family.”

“Right.” She sounded reluctant to admit he was probably right. Nadine was probably living her best life finally having a relationship at last with her son and getting to be a grandmother.

“It’s okay to miss her, Babe, but this was what she wanted and we agreed to support her decision.”

“I know.” Slipping into silence, the movie started. When lightning flashed outside the windows as the rain picked up until it was pounding, Elizabeth finally spoke again. “Do you remember how she used to watch the storms? She’d crack open a window so she could smell the rain and then would be in awe of the thunder and lightning?”

“…I do.”

“I don’t think they get storms like this out there.” She sounded sad about that fact. “Henry? Turn down the movie so we can hear the rain?”

“You don’t want to hear this?”

“I want to hear the storm. It- it makes me feel closer to her.”

“Okay.” He turned the volume down and tugged her into his arms.

The movie was nearly over when a knocking on the front door caught their attention. The landline hadn’t rung, which struck them as odd. Pausing the movie, Henry stood and walked to the front with Elizabeth following him, flicking on the porch light before opening the door. The storm hadn’t let up at all, rain blowing in on the wind.

Standing on the porch, soaked to the bone with only a duffle bag slung over her shoulder, stood Nadine. Even saturated, they could see she’d been crying. Her red-rimmed eyes met theirs. “I want to come home.”


	33. Chapter 33

Crossing the warm sand, she brushed her fingers along his back to start him stirring. He was laid out on a lounger halfway between the house and the surf under a wide yellow beach umbrella, arms crossed under his head, facing away from her.

He drew a breath as he woke. “Nadine…”

She smiled. “I’d ask how you knew it was me, but…”

Turning his head, he looked up at her over his shoulder. “I just know. I could never get the two of you mixed up.” He started to turn over, but a gentle hand on his back stopped him.

“I thought you looked relaxed enough already for a massage.” She held out the bottle of lotion in her hand where he could see. “Elizabeth’s on a call for the next twenty minutes at least and since technically I don’t have the clearance anymore…”

She felt his soft chuckle under her palm. “I’m getting a massage?”

“Well, I was going to do it anyway, hence the lotion I picked up special.” Nadine double checked the knot of her wrap skirt was tight so it didn’t slip off when she moved and then filled one palm with lotion before putting the bottle out of the way.

“You got kicked out of your own house, shouldn’t I be doing something for you?”

“You are here. That’s more than enough.” She began working her fingers along his back, focusing on one area at a time, listening to his sighs and other sounds. The beach was quiet save for the rush of waves until her arms began to ache and every inch of his back had been rubbed thoroughly. “How’s that?” She whispered.

“Heavenly.” He turned over as she stepped back and watched as she straightened, clearly working her own muscles loose from having been hunched over for so long. Henry shifted so he was better centered on the lounger and when Nadine turned her back for a second, he caught her swiftly around the waist, pulling her into his chest with a laugh as she screeched in surprise.

She put up a perfunctory struggle before breaking down into laughter as well.

His left arm stayed firm around her waist as his right hand started wandering. She was in nothing more than a bikini and sarong that tied at her hip, giving him ample skin to touch at will. Using his chin to push her hair to the side, he kissed and nipped at the line of her neck.

“Henry!” She laughed before her breath caught when his hand found the slit between the two halves of her skirt. When she repeated his name, it was breathy.

“I love touching you.”

“I- I know.” She moaned. “This was supposed to be about making you feel good.”

He pressed his hips into her ass. “You don’t think touching you makes me feel good?”

She couldn’t argue with him there. “It- it wasn’t to get you to have sex with me then… That wasn’t the plan.”

The tip of his middle finger teased the seam of her bikini bottoms and then ducked under, gently stroking sensitive flesh just inside. “There was a plan?” His hip pressed again, making her gasp. “The two of you made a plan?”

“Y- yes. I was going to get you relaxed and then you were going to go fuck your wife.” His finger brushed past her clit and her hips bucked. “Like- like a good husband.”

His hand pulled away and then she felt his head land against her shoulder. He was clearly thinking about something. Finally, he asked. “What’d I forget?”

“Nothing. We just… with how everything will be changing, I had mentioned the two of you need plenty of one on one time together.”

“Oh.” After another second, his hand started again. “And what are you going to do while I’m inside fucking my wife?” His finger pushed past her clit this time and dipped into her folds. She raised her right leg to give him access. “Were you going to lay out here all alone? Hm? Were you going to lay out here all needy and desperate while we were inside?”

“I-” She canted her hips, seeking more friction. “I don’t know.”

“I should make you come first, before I go in. I should make you break apart out here, make you one with nature.” His finger pushed in again, this time his thumb dragged over her clit.

“I need more, Henry.”

“You need more, huh? More like this?” He pushed a second finger in. “Is that enough? Or would you like three?” When he pulled back, he added a third, pushing them in, feeling the way she shifted and stretched to take him. “You are so tight.” His hips pushed into her ass again and he bit into her shoulder. After several strokes, he set up a rhythm, when his fingers pulled out, he pressed into her ass and then his fingers slammed in as his hips pulled back. “Are your eyes open, Nadine? Are you looking at those wonderful waves?”

She swallowed. “Y- yes.”

“The waves are fucking you, Baby, the waves are pounding into you. Can you come for them? Can you come?”

He circled her clit hard, the rhythm setting her whole body alight and then she was coming around his hand.

From the deck, they heard Elizabeth call down for Henry, but his hand didn’t stop yet. “I have to go fuck her now.” His hand pulled out of her body. “I’ll be back for you later.”

Nadine felt empty and exposed as he stood from the lounger, his trunks obviously tented. He didn’t bother to rearrange himself as he leaned down to kiss her, massaging her breast before pulling away. Rolling onto her stomach, she watched over the back of the seat as he rushed up the steps to Elizabeth’s side, guiding one of her hands to rub against his hardness as they kissed. Before they were even inside, clothes were already being pulled off.

She gave them ten minutes before gathering she and Henry’s discarded things and carrying them up to the house, letting herself back in. From the master bedroom, she could hear the sweet sounds Elizabeth made and guessed by the volume that they hadn’t shut the door, not that it mattered. The three of them often had times were two were having sex while the third was doing something else in the house.

Cleaning the sand off her hands and feet, Nadine checked to be sure the food was put away from lunch before wandering in the direction of the bedroom, stopping in the doorway to just watch. Elizabeth was straddling Henry’s waist, riding him beautifully.

She’d always been attracted to more than just Henry and Elizabeth as individuals, she’d been attracted to their relationship, their marriage. It had always been beautiful to her to see how loving they were to one another, it’d been a major turn on. As much as she loved participating in what they all had together, she still loved seeing the two of them as a pair.

Elizabeth’s head dropped back and then she was gasping, begging Henry to fuck her harder. He gripped her hips and lifted, pistoning up into her as fast as he could, bringing them both to their climax. Nadine didn’t move from where she stood as they came down, rearranging to curl into one another. When Elizabeth saw her standing there, she put her hand out as an invitation. “Come here, Baby.”

Nadine crossed her bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, aware she was now the only one dressed. A smile played at her lips as she toyed with Elizabeth’s hair, tucking it away from her face. “I love watching the two of you.”

“I know.” She caught Nadine’s hand and kissed it. “Do you need anything?”

She shook her head. “I’m good. Henry got his hands on me earlier.”


	34. Chapter 34

Henry followed the quiet through the house. He knew they were both home not only because the SUVs were out front, but because Frank had given him a nod in greeting on his way in, letting him know they’d been back about an hour. The house, though, was quiet.

There were coats on the rack and purses on the entry table, briefcases and paperwork abandoned on the desks. The kitchen showed no signs of either of them having eaten dinner, a problem he constantly fought against. Unless both of them happened to be hungry at the same time, when left on their own they didn’t eat. He never could work out why.

Passing an opened bottle of Riesling, he started for the stairs and then into their bedroom. Here, two pairs of black pumps were abandoned haphazardly on the floor. A fond smile tugged onto his face as he picked them up, rearranging them into pairs, before placing them just inside the closet. He could almost imagine the matching sighs they’d made as they’d kicked them off.

The bathroom lights were on, so Henry stepped to the door and pushed it open. On the step outside the tub sat the two glasses of wine. The tub itself was filled to overflowing with bubbles and both the moisture in the air and the pink to their skin told him the water was still plenty warm. Closing the short distance, he silently dipped his fingers in, still more hot than warm. He wasn’t surprised, they both liked to simmer in water far beyond his preference. Even showering, he found himself opting to shower alone so neither fussed over the water being too cold.

Tonight, it clearly wasn’t too cold.

Elizabeth had her head leaned back against the curve of the tub surrounded by suds. Only the ends of her hair were damp. Her entire body was hidden except for her right hand which was balanced over the edge of the tub.

Nadine was rested back against Elizabeth, head on her shoulder. Her hair as well was dry except for the ends and her right hand was linked by their fingers with Elizabeth’s.

Both of them were sound asleep.

Creeping out of the bathroom, Henry found the little digital camera they kept in his bedside drawer and slipped back in, preserving this moment for the future before finding two of his shirts for them to wear to bed and some towels. Tossing a towel over his arm, Henry moved the wine glasses to safety before touching Nadine’s shoulder, rousing her just enough to make her compliant. “Come on, I’ll help you out.” He kept her steady as he helped her sleeping get out of the water and standing on a rug. With one towel, he wrapped her up tight before grabbing a second and patting her hair drier and then working on her arms and legs. “There we go.”

Drowsily, she blinked at him. “You’re home.”

Henry’s chuckle was soft. “I am. Let’s get you into pajamas and into bed.” He handed her one of the shirts and watched her pull it over her head. One she was dressed, he pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss to her head. “We’ll be right in.” He nudged her toward the bedroom, watching long enough to make sure she was crawling under the covers.

Turning back to his wife, Henry pulled up the plug sot the tub would start to drain before grabbing a towel and repeating the same actions with Elizabeth. “Let’s get you dried off, Babe.”

She swayed against him, her voice soft with sleep. “Where’s Nadine?”

“Already in bed waiting. You both fell asleep in the water.”

“Oh.” She yawned. “I didn’t know that.”

Bending down, he got her dried and then passed her a shirt. “You can be in bed asleep.”

“You too.”

Standing again, he kissed her. “Yes, me too.” He turned her to face the bedroom. “Go on.”

From the doorway, he watched as Elizabeth crawled into the bed, barely disturbing Nadine who was already on the far side. Together they curled, face to face, arms and legs intertwined. He knew that they would rearrange again once he crawled in with them, but no matter, they would still be touching.

Turning back to the bathroom, he cleaned up, finishing off their wine and leaving the empty glasses to be dealt with tomorrow. Working quickly, he stepped into the shower just long enough to rinse off the day before finding a fresh shirt and boxers for bed.

Under the sheets, he spooned against Elizabeth’s back. Gently, he followed her arm through the tangle of limbs until her found their joined hands, adding his to the mix. He loved coming home to this, to them. To him, this was the best part of his life.


	35. Chapter 35

Silently, Nadine helped carry the last of the boxes out of the house and into the Jeep waiting at the curb. “Are you sure you don’t want help unpacking?” She took a step back once her hands were empty, shoving them into the back pockets of her jeans.

Henry shut the door and turned to her, wrapping one arm around her waist for a moment. “No. Not today. I’m sure there’ll still be stuff left to unpack on Thursday.”

Thursday was when she was headed to his new house, the one where she and the kids would now split their time. “Okay.”

“Obviously we’ll talk before that.”

“I know.” Her heart was breaking, a feeling that had been her state of being for weeks now.

“I’m sorry you’re hurting.”

“I’m sorry you’re hurting too.” She tipped her face up, looking him in the eyes.

Things had been strained for months, she hadn’t been able to put her finger on it. It’d been growing for ages until none of them could ignore it any longer. Her first response, attempting to preserve the peace, was to insert herself where she could between them; at meals, in bed. Somehow life returned to the way it’d been before with her in the middle. At least for a while anyway.

When Henry moved into the guest room, some of the undercurrent of anger seemed to ease. When he moved in with his friend Peter, he and Elizabeth were able to carry on a conversation again. When he cooked them both dinner one night and sat them down, asking how they’d feel if he bought his own place just a few streets over, well… She and Elizabeth had helped him house hunt.

As the day of the closing neared, Henry had been around all the time again, packing his things, and Nadine watched the way Henry and Elizabeth laughed and talked, reminiscing about their past. They’d both assured her this wasn’t to do with her, they both loved her still. She believed deep down, watching them talk, that they still loved one another. Somewhere along the way, they’d fallen out of love.

“If either of you or the kids need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”

“I know, Henry.”

“You got the key?”

She nodded. “Elizabeth brought it to me yesterday.”

Deciding there was nothing else, he started for the driver’s side before looking back. “Keep an eye on her for me?”

“Of course.” She watched Henry finally climb into his car as her fingers came to her mouth, staying there as she watched the car start and tail lights glow red as he put it into gear. She blew a kiss and then watched as he drove away for the last time.

From now on, they would be a household divided.


	36. Chapter 36

Twenty heads of state from around the world, plus their closest staff, filled the tables around the room. From the corner Nadine stared at each table, one at a time, looking for any hint of a problem as a relaxed smile played at her lips.

If tonight went well, they just might have the beginnings of a treaty about child welfare underway.

“It all looks good.”

She turned to her left, looking up at Henry who had appeared from somewhere without her noticing. She watched as his eyes roamed her gown, all black with a corset bodice that only accentuated her slim figure. “Everyone looks happy.”

His eyes snapped from her breasts to the room. If any other man had been so bold, her champagne would have soaked their face by now, but Henry was no surprise. Not after the three of them had spent a wonderful night at her apartment a month ago. “Yes, they do.”

Nadine tipped her glass to her lips. “It will do us no favors if someone sees you ogling your wife’s Chief of Staff.”

He chuckled, a hint of red flushing his face. “True.”

“Speaking of your wife, where is she?”

He took two steps closer. “Blake whisked her away to speak with the Minister of… I honestly have no idea. He told me it might be a bit and to find something to keep myself busy.”

“Ah.” She understood now. “Spain then.” Her eyes took in the room for another minute before turning fully to him. “So you decided to stand with me instead of mingling and helping our cause because…?”

His eyes dipped again, first to her breasts and then to her waist… and then further, no doubt imagining her legs that were currently hidden beneath fabric.

“Oh my god.” Nadine rolled her eyes, turning and walking away three steps before turning back and closing the distance again. “This was why I warned it was a bad idea.”

“Nadine.” He was pleading already. “I just…” He took the final step separating them. “I can’t stop thinking about…”

“So?” She arched a brow. “I warned you. I warned you both.”

Henry nodded, licked his lips, and then stared at hers.

“Don’t you dare think about it.” Even as she spoke, she lifted her chin so she could lower her voice further. “Representatives from nearly two dozen countries are here. You kissing me will alienate and offend at least half and may well incite war with three others.”

He moved to speak directly into her ear. “I want to do more than kiss you.”

Nadine pulled back swiftly, staring up at him with an edge of horror before quickly checking their surroundings. “Henry!”

“I’m not the only one either.”

Her eyes found Elizabeth, still in conversation with Spain’s Foreign Minister, Blake at her side. Across the room, blue eyes met hers and Nadine felt the hunger in them. She swallowed and then finished off her champagne, turning back to the man in front of her.

“I told you not to fall in love with me.”


	37. Chapter 37

The canvas bag thumped onto the table as she huffed a relieved sigh, massaging her now empty shoulder a moment before taking a seat.

Nadine was on her fourth year teaching. Normally she kept to the Poli Sci department, she was plenty sought after and kept busy there, but this semester one of the adjunct professors had had to take a leave, leaving his course needing covered. The department heads had come calling to her, asking if she could take on the course on Social Problems with little more than twenty-four hours notice.

At first, she had balked. Sociology wasn’t really in her wheel house, but after she’d thought on it for a bit she’d acknowledged that in a way, social problems had been exactly what her job had been made up of for thirty years.

The classroom door opened as the first students started wandering in. She ignored them, kept her head down. She’d learned it was better not to engage right away, to let students get themselves settled without feeling like she was watching them. They had sixteen weeks to get to know one another, during which time a solid sixty percent would come to hate her just a little bit. No need to rush things.

Checking the time, Nadine dug the roster out and pulled on her glasses, glancing up once at the two dozen faces in the room before standing to speak. They were in a standard classroom, not a lecture hall, so she’d have to stand the entire time to be seen.

“For those of you who know who your professors are, obviously I am not Professor Hartfield. My name is Nadine Tolliver and I will be your professor for this course in his place. You may address me as Professor Tolliver or Ms. Tolliver. Now, let’s put some names to faces and then I will tell a bit about myself before we begin.” Raising the sheet of paper, Nadine began reading the names aloud, glancing up after each to identify the corresponding face.

At the halfway point, she stumbled. “Jason McC-” Her eyes snapped up, searching the room until Jason straightened and met her eye. “Jason… How good to see you.” There was a long pause before she remembered to keep going.

Once that was out of the way, Nadine leaned against the desk and folded her hands. “I don’t believe I’ve had any of you as students in the past, so a bit about myself. Sociology is not my usual area, however this course is comprised of topics that made up a great deal of what my last career was made up of. I received my law degree and went directly to work in the public sector, starting on the staff of a state senator, then moved up the ranks as I worked for a US senator, and then as Chief of Staff for two Secretaries of State.”

A young woman’s hand shot up.

“Yes?”

“Which two?”

“I served under Vincent Marsh during his short time in office before he passed away and then I served four years under Elizabeth McCord.” She didn’t miss how some students turned and stared at Jason, but didn’t address it. Instead, she kept it relevant. “In my position with the State Department, most of the crises we faced, most of the day to day issues we handled, were social problems. Some examples.” She pushed off the desk and began to walk a bit. “Most conflict anywhere in the world can be handled by addressing the underlying social problems that caused it. Often, those problems are to do with scarcity. Scarcity of education, of basic resources like food or shelter, of stability.”

As the class carried on, she almost forgot Jason was in the back of the room. He never spoke a word until the other students had filed out. Nadine didn’t know what to say to him. They’d shared a home for seventeen months, she’d been in his life as more than just his mother’s coworker for barely more than twenty-four.

A week more.

They’d celebrated their second anniversary and then she’d gotten spooked and had ran. She hadn’t even said goodbye to the kids.

His voice sounded so much like Henry’s that it shook her to her core when he finally spoke. “Can I still call you Nadine? You know, when we’re not in class?”

He was standing in front of the desk now, she had to crane her neck to look up at him. “I suppose.”

“I- I knew you taught here, I’ve just been avoiding you.”

She hadn’t even known he was in the state, but then how would she? “How- how long have you been on campus?”

“This is my second year.”

Nadine nodded. “It’s good to see you.” She cleared her throat. “How’re your parents?”

“They’re, um, they’re good.” He shifted nervously. “They know you teach out here. I saw your name my first semester on a pin board for some symposium and I figured it was a pretty rare name so I- I peeked in.”

“You should have stayed, I but you would have understood most of it.”

“Maybe… I told them though. That it was you. I think right now the only thing keeping her from showing up is her fleet of Secret Service agents.”

Her eyes cut to the hallway when she could make out someone milling about. “Yours don’t seem to mind it here.”

Jason laughed. “Yeah, well… Blake told Adam, that’s her personal agent, that she was a flight risk. Adam confirmed with Frank and Matt and now Mom isn’t allowed off the grounds without Blake and Adam on either side of her.”

“What about your dad?”

“Are you kidding? Blake made sure Adam knew Dad helped half the time.” He went quiet for a long minute. “Can I tell them you’re my professor?”

She was surprised he was asking. “I never hid where I went.”

“You just ran about as far away as possible.”

“Jason…”

“Why?” There was pleading in his voice. “Why did you go?”

She shook her head. “I’m not even sure anymore.”

He looked like he wanted to say more and for a moment she hoped he might, but instead he turned and walked out.

The weeks went by and their stilted after class conversations continued. Sometimes he had something to say about his sisters or about some of the staff. On one occasion he shared the secret details to an incident that had been made only partially public.

The information, however, was only one way. She’d never granted him permission to talk about her to anyone and so he never did. He would ask, from time to time, if he could tell Blake something or perhaps Alison, but her response was always the same- silence.

Most of the time she could push his soft questions out of her mind as soon as he left the room, but some days… Some days his quiet words hung with her. Some days he didn’t ask a question or share a little story.

Some days he only made a statement. “My parents asked about you again.”


	38. Chapter 38

Life had been tense for weeks. Nadine had spent less time around the house and more time tiptoeing around both Elizabeth and Henry. More than once she’d overheard a heated argument or watched as Henry coolly brushed away Elizabeth’s needs. She had no idea what was happening, an expected downfall of a relationship made up of varying clearance levels.

It was the kind of thing she’d made peace with years ago. She couldn’t change it, so there was no reason to get bent out of shape about it. Up to now, the McCords had either accepted secrecy as part of the game or ignored it entirely and talked anyway, but either way they’d never been like, well, this.

Henry slammed the bedroom door hard, making her jump nearly out of her skin in fright. A hand to her chest, she tried to regulate her now-pounding heart. “Henry!”

When he turned, he looked livid. “What?” He paused, his tone only slightly easing. “I’m sorry, Nadine.”

“What’s going on with you?”

“I’m fine.” He bit it out. “Nothing’s wrong. Nothing’s ever wrong. The world goes on and it doesn’t matter that innocent people die because of choices we make.” He yanked off first one shoe and then the other, throwing them hard in the direction of the closet to her left. She flinched each time. “People are pawns now. Did you know that?”

She’d never seen him so angry and it was making her nervous. Anxiously, she turned toward the door and to freedom downstairs. Maybe Elizabeth would have a better idea of what’d set him off today, though anymore she wasn’t saying much either.

“Run to Elizabeth. The whole world bows to Elizabeth. Can do no wrong. I get it now.”

The bitter anger made her looked back to check this was the same man who used to carry enough love to share it with them both. “Get what now?”

He blinked, staring into her. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

She wanted to flee to safety. Her instincts screamed not to hang around and find out when Henry might actually be capable of in this state. Her heart, as clenched in fear as it was, had other ideas. “You’re both hurting, I get that. I just- I don’t understand why you’re suddenly so hell-bent on hurting her when she’d begging you to hold her while she falls apart. She’s breaking into a millions pieces and it isn’t me she wants. Something… Something’s wrong and I wish you wouldn’t bury yourself in hate like this.”

“You don’t understand what’s happened.”

“Because no one is talking to me!” Her sudden anger surprises them both. “Instead of tearing us all apart, why- why couldn’t you come to me with your problem? We could talk it out like adults who love one another.”

“It’s classified-”

“When the hell has that stopped either of you before?!” She tossed her hands in the air. “Now. I’m going to go check on Elizabeth who spent our entire day about two minutes from a massive panic attack and that was before you just screamed at her. I’m doing that because I love her and somewhere I love you. After that, I’m heading back to my place because I am not comfortable spending time in the kind of environment you have been creating. You need to talk, Henry. Not shout or slam things or bottle it up. Honestly talk. And you need to really listen to Elizabeth.” She drew a deep breath and let it out carefully, debating before silently walking away.


	39. Chapter 39

Dinner was over and Nadine had settled back at the kitchen table, computer and stacks of paperwork spread out around her. As she made notes to a budget report, marking items that needed double checked and identifying places where numbers had changed, she glanced over the top of the computer into the kitchen.

Elizabeth was at the sink loading the last of the dishes, or trying to at least. Henry was behind her, doing his level best to distract her from her task with his hands and his mouth. Her words were asking him to stop, but the sounds she was making, as well as the way she leaned into what he was doing, told a different tale.

Nadine alternated watching them and working her way down the page. Henry had only arrived back home hours ago from a week-long trip out of the country. Both she and Elizabeth were thrilled to have him back and he’d spared no time expressing just how happy he was to be home. A small smile twitched at her mouth as she remembered how he’d come through the door, spotting her first where she’d stood just inside the office searching for one of her pens. He hadn’t even shed his coat, the fabric biting cold as he caught her off guard, sweeping her into a bridal hold and pressing silly kisses anywhere he could reach.

Elizabeth had come running at her shrieks of laugher, laughing herself as she tried to rescue Nadine from Henry’s cold grip.

Elizabeth shrieked, making Nadine refocus on what was happening in the here and now. Henry had gotten her pants undone and had his fingers tucked under the hem. “Henry! We’re in the kitchen!”

He laughed. “It’s only the three of us home. I thought we could recreate how we got Alison.”

She tossed her head back laughing. “I think we’re both too old for that.”

“We could try.” He pressed kisses to her neck. “I could even pull up rain sounds on my phone and it could sound the same.”

“Henry.” She halfheartedly tried to pull away, but he leaned back against the island, using one foot to kick the dishwasher closed. “We’ll both need a chiropractor tomorrow if we do this.”

Shifting his weight, Henry sank to the floor, bringing Elizabeth down into his lap, hands roaming even more. “Problem for tomorrow. I haven’t seen you all week and want to feel you.”

She groaned, clearly surrendering as she slid to the left, spreading out in the space between the cabinets. “Fine!” She huffed it, like making love to her husband was some great burden.

Henry was laughing now, moving so he was over her, tugging her shirt up so he could blow raspberries against her skin. As expected, she responded by trying to wriggle away, laughing hard.

“Stop! Stop!”

“Never!” He scooted back, working her pants down as he moved, doing his best to strip them both naked quickly.

At the table, Nadine absently flipped to the next page, half watching the free show and half trying to get her backlog of work done.

She wasn’t complaining even a little. It wasn’t like they were leaving her out. She and Elizabeth had been alone all week and it wasn't exactly a secret that they were intimate when Henry was way. The few international trips Elizabeth had taken without her had been the same. Jotting another note in the margin, Nadine didn’t even bother to try and block out the sounds Elizabeth made as Henry sank into her depths

When they both finally came, she leaned around her screen to see them better, quipping lightly. “That just about warrants a cigarette.”

They both looked up, Elizabeth looking upside down. “I’m sorry, Baby, we shouldn’t have left you out.”

“I’m okay. Really. And I have to get all this done before Monday anyway.” She truly didn’t care, though she was almost squirming with arousal from having watched and listened.

Henry pulled away, gathering his clothes and crossing to lean over Nadine, making her lean back so he could kiss her. “What are you working on?”

“Justifying Elizabeth’s spending for the last quarter.”

He laughed. “Good luck with that. I’m going to go wash up. Don’t be up too late.”

“I know.” She accepted a second kiss from him, stretching her back and then running her fingers through her hair. “I promise not to fall asleep at the table again.”

“Good. I don’t want to have to carry you to bed again.”

“I’ll be good.” She openly stared as he headed up the stairs to the bedroom. Once he was out of sight, she looked around for Elizabeth who was standing now, gathering her own things, wearing nothing but her underwear. “You should shower with him.”

“And leave you down here all alone?” It was her turn to lean in close, kissing her.

“Believe it or not, I’m more productive when I’m not being distracted by sex.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Fair enough. I’ll shower and then come back down and help out.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“I know it’s not. But I’m going to do it anyway.” She tapped her index finger gently against the tip of Nadine’s nose. “I want to be with you. We’ll all have ice cream and Henry can sit and watch us act like we have day jobs for a while.” She giggled, leaning in so they were nearly kissing again. “We could work in just our underwear and leave him with some serious fantasies.”

That made Nadine laugh as well. “Eating ice cream, drinking a few glasses of wine, and going over a mountain of work documents all while nearly naked. Sounds like my kind of Friday night.”


	40. Chapter 40

She’d been the one sleeping on the side tonight with Elizabeth in the middle. There was no real rhyme or reason as to which of them ended up in the center and some nights, though she had no idea how, they managed to switch and never realize until morning.

Being on the edge, however, meant she was the one closest to the phones. Elizabeth’s phone, her own phone, the secured landline that was used both for official business and by security downstairs.

Tonight, it was the landline that rang. Too many years of practice answering phones from a dead sleep had Nadine holding the receiver to her ear before the noise had a chance to wake either of her bedmates. “Yes?”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am, but we have Russell Jackson downstairs demanding to see you at once.” Later, she’d wonder why she didn’t clarify Ted’s statement. Had he mistaken her voice, thick and deep with sleep, for the Secretary’s or had he simply made an intentional misspeak assuming she would correct and send Elizabeth, not wanting to risk giving their relationship away. In the moment, all Nadine heard was that Russell wanted to see her.

It wasn’t even all that weird. They did talk… When Blake had had enough and begged her to intervene.

Pulling on Elizabeth’s thin cotton robe to cover her silk nightgown, Nadine fumbled down the stairs, flipping on lights she had to squint against as her eyes took their time to adjust. It was late and she was miffed for having her sleep interrupted, that was the excuse she’d use later for why she didn’t pull the robe _closed_ , leaving the long expanse of her bare legs on display as well as her chest under the lacy trim. Yanking the door open, she stared at Russell. “What, Russell?”

Some angry tirade on the tip of his tongue, Russell swung around to face her and let loose and… froze. “Nadine?”

“Ted said you needed to talk. You’re not coming in, everyone else is asleep, so talk.”

He looked like a fish, mouth opening and closing. “But…” Clearly, he was trying to file and catalogue finding her on Elizabeth’s doorstep at this hour dressed as she was. “You… you’re…”

“I am here. Yes, Russell. I know.”

“You… slept here?”

“Yes. Because I live here now.”

“… What?”

If it weren’t the middle of the night, she might be more amused. “Russell, it’s midnight, what do you want?”

“I needed to talk to Bess about her fiasco conversation with Ambassador Oman.”

“At midnight?” She arched a brow at him.

“She… She fights back less at this hour.” Nadine was a little surprised he’d admitted that. “You live here?”

“For about six months. Yes.”

It was clear he had more questions with every passing minute. If it weren’t so late, Nadine might’ve enjoyed seeing him so at a loss for what to say. It wasn’t every day Russell was speechless. “Wha- Why?”

“Why do I live here?”

“Sure.”

She glanced out at Ted and Joe, who were watching them closely, both clearly listening to every word. “Because we’re in a relationship together.”

“W- We?”

“Henry and Elizabeth and I. Now. If everything else can wait. I’d like to get back to our bed and enjoy the rest of my night.”

“Yeah. Okay.” He turned to walk away but then turned back hesitantly. “Nadine?”

“Yes, Russell?”

He stared at the wall for a minute before looking at her. “I can see it.” He gave a small nod, walking away into the night.

Stunned at what sounded a bit like Russell’s support over what she’d admitted, Nadine hovered in the doorway until Ted spoke her name. Suddenly remembering how she was dressed, she tugged the robe closed, shivering against the cool night. “Good night, boys.” She heard them say it back as she pushed the door closed again.


	41. Chapter 41

Falling into the house, Elizabeth walked backward, pulling Nadine with her. “I have been waiting all night to get my hands on you.” She tugged her clear to the stairs and sat down, pulling Nadine into her. They were both dressed to the nines in ball gowns, State had hosted Brazil for a dinner tonight. “I want to taste you so bad, Baby.” They’d both drunk more than their fair share tonight, each getting cut off first by Blake, then by Henry, and then by Blake again after he caught Matt and Jay sneaking them drinks.

Before Nadine could suggest they walk up the stairs, she was in Elizabeth’s arms, straddling her thighs, being kissed as a hand searched for the bottom of her dress to shove it up. “What do you need from me?”

“I want to make you scream. Right here, I want to hold you and just take you apart.”

Teeth grazed her throat and she moaned. “This is a bad idea.” A thumb found her clit through the thin fabric of her underwear. “Christ, how do you do that without looking?”

Elizabeth laughed. “It’s a gift. Now, what were you saying about not doing this here?” Her fingers went up either side of the silk and pressed halfway in, making Nadine buck up. “I want to flip you over right here and eat you until you can’t remember how to walk up these stairs.”

Pitching forward, Nadine braced herself on the step behind Elizabeth’s head, kissing her soundly. “What makes you think I’ll let you?” She did her best to ignore Elizabeth’s hand. “What makes you think I won’t take you right here instead? You’re already on your back.”

Elizabeth smirked. “I might just let you.”

Intrigued by the look in her eyes, Nadine slipped backward, sighing at the loss of fingers within her as she sank to the base of the stairs and started digging through the layers of Elizabeth’s gown. “Floor length gowns are ridiculous.”

“Not all of us have your legs.”

Her chuckle was deep. She grabbed Elizabeth’s ankles and slid her hands up her legs, bunching up the skirt as she went. Went it was all flipped up, she stared for a moment, speechless. “Now… I know you had underwear on when we walked out of your office.” She remembered, even in her alcohol-induced haze because they’d bought matching lingerie as a treat for Henry.

“They’re in Henry’s pocket.”

“And how, may I ask, did they get there?”

Elizabeth bit her lip.

Nadine laughed. “My god!” She shook her head. “You are insatiable.”

“Well, come try to sate me then.” She spread her thighs wide, presenting herself.

It was an invitation she wasn’t about to turn down. Adjusting, Nadine dove right in, not wasting any time driving Elizabeth crazy right there on the front stairs. The alcohol helped loosen their inhibitions and much more quickly than normal, Elizabeth was exploding against her face. “God I love it when you’re like this.”

Elizabeth laughed, tugging Nadine up into her lap again. “I just love you.” Her hands roamed and found their way under her dress again. “Now, let me finish what I tried to start.”

With the ball gown, finding purchase on the stairs meant spreading her legs wider than normal, and the angles with her hands behind Elizabeth’s head meant bearing her weight differently, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care as Elizabeth began working her own magic and she didn’t care as the kissing resumed, hot and desperate.

It wasn’t until she’d come down again, sagging into Elizabeth’s embrace, that she realized she should care, at least a little bit.

Every muscle in her body was either trying to recover from her orgasm or objecting to what she’d just taken part in. Or was just drunk and confused. She was pretty sure there were a few that were that. Shifting around, she tried to peer to her right. “Where’d Henry go?”

Elizabeth chuckled. “I’m not sure. He came in just behind us.”

“I need him.”

She should’ve expected what came next as Elizabeth shouted his name… right in her ear.

“Really?”

“My baby asks, I deliver.”

“Your baby likes her hearing, thank you very much.” Elizabeth’s hands started tickling her and she screeched, squirming despite the pain until Henry appeared, book in hand.

“You shouted?”

They were both laughing now. “Nadine’s stuck. Turns out stairs sex was a bad idea after all.”

“Told you.”

“Can you please carry her up to bed so we can get her naked and tucked in?”

“Carry me? I don’t need carried.” Her words fell on deaf ears as Henry scooped her up, stepping around Elizabeth as he carried her to bed. “Henry, this is ridiculous.”

He ignored her. “Stay there, Babe! I don’t trust that you won’t fall.” He placed Nadine on the bed. “I’ll be right back.”

She huffed. “Thank you.”

Two minutes later, he was helping Elizabeth through the door. “Okay, both of you strip down and get washed up and I’ll tuck you in. Turn, I’ll do zippers.”

As he helped them out of their dresses, Nadine shared giggling grins with Elizabeth. “Does this mean you want my underwear in your pocket too?”

Henry laughed, kissing her before tugging them down her hips. “What kind of life do I have, hmm? Two women trying to sneak their things into my pockets for later.”

“You’re a lucky man.” She tossed her arms around his neck, shifting when Elizabeth did the same. “We love you.”

He kissed them both. “I love you both too.”


	42. Chapter 42

Henry had stacks of paper everywhere around his desk, on the surface, on the floor, on the bookshelves within easy reach, when Nadine wandered in from the kitchen. “What are you doing?” Her words were laced with amusement.

He softly chuckled. “Sorting. I never took the time to purge the unnecessary stuff from the hard copy medical records I have stored-”

“-And today seemed like as good a day as any?”

He glanced her way. “Yes.”

Moving closer, she tipped her head to skim what she could see. “How old are we talking?”

“Mostly when I was serving. There are medical records from when I was deployed.”

“You were injured?” She’d never heard about that from either of them. Her eyes cut from the pages to his face and back again.

“Not majorly, no.” He laid another stapled together stack of pages on the desk and distractedly noted how her fingers seemed to hover above the new top page.

“You- you had surgery?” There was an odd change in her voice.

“Yes. It was nothing service related though. I had my appendix out.” When her fingers seemed to gently stroke the page, he paused and looked up at her fully. “Nadine?”

Her voice caught as she spoke. “Did- did you meet your surgeon?”

Henry sat back in his chair, curious about this sudden change in her demeanor. She’d turned her back partly toward him, protecting herself from something, and her head was tipped down as she alternated watching him for his answer and looking at that page. “I did. I had a few small complications and ended up in the hospital for a week. I’m okay now though.”

The room was silent for several minutes before she drew a breath and pulled away. “I know. It’s- it’s not that.” She walked to the windows, arms folded and shoulders curled in.

He dug his heels into the floor and rolled the chair back so he could stand. “Then what is it?”

“I just-” He didn’t miss the way she paused to sniffle. “I just wasn’t expecting to see that today. I’m fine, Henry.”

“To see what?”

“That signature.”

Confused, Henry turned back, skimming the page. “Ed Briggs?” He watched her nod. “Did you know him?”

She didn’t answer right away. Another minute passed and her arms dropped to her sides and she turned to face him, chin raised. “What did you think of him?”

Unsure where she was going with this, he did his best to recall so many years ago. “He- he was funny. It feels like surgeons have this reputation of no decent bedside manner, but his was very down to earth. When I ended up staying longer, he would stop by and talk about the kids. I told him about Stevie, she was just a baby then, and he told me about his son. We talked a bit about being married. We… we talked about going home and having family time, having more kids.” Those conversations were coming back to him now. He smiled, remembering. “We realized we were both from this area and joked about getting together in the future.” When tears dripped down Nadine’s cheeks, he stopped. “What’s wrong?”

One hand covered her mouth while the other waved. “No- nothing. Please, go on.”

“Over poker one night, we compared notes on our wives. I told him how independent and strong and yet still so kind and gentle Elizabeth was. He talked about how his wife had travelled the world on her own and then how well she’d raised their son until he came along. We- we decided Elizabeth and his wife would either hate one another or be inseparable.”

A sob slipped free. “You never- you never used names?”

He shook his head. “No… Nadine? Why does it matter? Who is he?” It was obvious that, even after all this time together, she was still debating being open with him. He knew that he still knew so little about her, and would probably never know everything.

“I’ll- I’ll be right back.” He watched as she nervously drifted up the stairs.

While he waited, he looked at the page again, wondering just what it was about that man’s name that had set her off.

“Here.”

He hadn’t heard her come back down and it took him a moment to process that she was holding something out to him. “What’s this?”

“Ed Briggs.”

His brows shot up as he stared at the photo now in his hand. “You know him?”

Instead of answering right away, her fingers found the signature scrawled midway down the page. “I knew him. He was… He was one of the best men I’ve ever known. Kind, funny…” She sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“Being so emotional.” She gently took the photo back. “You were busy, I’ll let you get back to it.” She tried to walk away, but Henry caught her arm.

“You are never an interruption.” He pulled her close, holding her carefully. “Who is he, Nadine?”

“Was. He’s dead now. He- he never came home from that tour… He died about two weeks after your surgery.”

He thought a minute. “A roadside bomb?” He vaguely remembered it happening just after he’d been discharged.

She nodded. “I was counting down the days until he’d be home again and he… he never came.”

And like a ton of bricks, it slammed home. All those small things his doctor had shared decades ago, the vague-but-proud accomplishments shared. “You were his wife.”

Another nod. “I- I knew you served at the same time, I just… I never considered that you might’ve met. That you might’ve talked about us.” Finally, she turned and faced him. “A part of me always thought that he would have loved the two of you. I imagined you would have gotten along with him.”

“Does it bother you? That I did get to meet him?”

Nadine thought about that. Did it bother her? There was no way anyone could’ve known then how their lives would play out. Perhaps in a different life she would’ve met Elizabeth under much different circumstances and they would’ve ended up lifelong friends. Heaven knew she could’ve used a friend like Elizabeth back then. “I honestly don’t know.”

Henry pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I can understand that. I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“All of this catching you off guard like this.”

“You couldn’t have known, Henry.” She put a step of space between them. “And honestly? I haven’t cried over him in a very long time. I loved him more than anything, he was an amazing father, I mourned him deeply for many years, but then I accepted it and moved on. Today just- it’s more the surprise of you having met him is all. I’m okay though.”

He watched her retreat through the doorway. “Nadine?” She stopped, but didn’t look back. “I did like him. And… you were the light of his life. I could see it in his eyes, in the way he spoke of you.” She nodded, but didn’t move. “Maybe you can tell me more about him sometime.”

She turned her head just enough to cast her voice over her shoulder. “Maybe.”


	43. Chapter 43

Daisy’s tablet pinged. Tapping the screen awake to view the notification, a small gasp slipped through her lips before she managed to school her reaction. They were flying back from a short trip to London, only three days, and would be landing in a matter of hours. Glancing around the dim cabin, she checked to see who, if anyone, had taken any notice of her tablet or her reaction only to find Blake watching her closely.

Checking that Elizabeth was suitably distracted with reports, Blake crossed the plane and sat at Daisy’s side. “Crisis?” He kept his voice low to not draw attention.

Wordlessly, Daisy turned her screen so he could see, she watched as his eyes widened.

“I need to know more.” He whispered it, already pulling his phone out and pressing the speed dial for Henry. “Cover for me.” He glanced to Elizabeth before finding a safe place to ask what he needed. Ten minutes later, he joined her again. “He’s still on his way to find out.”

“Do we say something?”

They both studied their boss where she sat alone at a table. The only others in the flight today were Matt and Jay, who were both sound asleep. “No. No point in causing undue stress until we land.”

“That’s… a few hours still.”

“We wait.” His voice left no room for discussion on that fact. There was nothing they could do until they were wheels down.

Daisy nodded.

===

Three hours later, Daisy and Blake both anxiously stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting beside a now-looped-in Matt and Jay for Elizabeth to follow them off. Blake had whispered what he knew, which wasn’t much, to the detail. Now someone just had to break the news.

Elizabeth reached the bottom of the stairs and stared at them. “Okay guys, you’re freaking me out.”

“Ma’am, there’s something we need to tell you. We need you to take a deep breath and remain calm.”

“What is it, Blake?”

He hesitated, exchanging looks with the others. “It’s- it’s Nadine.”

That had her attention. “What happened to Nadine?”

Blake swallowed. “She- she was in a car accident. She was taken to GWU. I- I don’t know much more except she’s still there.” He took a breath. “Henry is there with her.”

“I have to go.” She looked around for her agents, surprised to find them already waiting.

“They know, Ma’am.”

Elizabeth could only nod as she rushed to get into an SUV. She needed to reach Henry and she needed to find Nadine.

===

Laying against the pillows, Nadine listened as the TV played softly across the room. Her eyes were closed to keep out the bright light that was making her headache worse. She didn’t miss when Henry’s phone beeped. “She’s landed?”

Clothing rustled. “Yes. Blake told her you were here. She’s on her way.”

“There’s no real point in her coming here, you know.”

He made a noise in his throat. “You’re in the hospital, Nadine.”

“I’m _at_ the hospital. I haven’t been admitted, I won’t be admitted. They are only watching me out of an abundance of caution which wasn’t helped in the least by you.” She cracked her eyes open just enough to glare at him a moment.

“You were in a car accident. You were injured.”

“You are being ridiculous.” She heard the door open, the hallway sounds suddenly loud and then quiet again. “Can I go home before his wife arrives and this sideshow becomes a full circus?”

“Nadine…”

She forced her eyes open to look at the nurse, working hard to recall his name. “Kyle? I’m sure you enjoy peaceful shifts, right?”

He smiled. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Carefully, she nodded. “In about fifteen minutes, the Secretary of State plus six Diplomatic Security agents, plus possibly the entirety of her senior staff are going to descend on your peaceful night and make it not so peaceful anymore. I’m sure you don’t need that kind of headache, right?”

He didn’t look like he believed her. “Ma’am?”

“I’m fine, Kyle. Please can you discuss with the doctor letting me go?”

“You came in disoriented and unable to give pertinent personal information, Ma’am.” He pulled up her chart and looked it over.

She huffed, realizing she wasn’t going to be getting out of this easily. She looked Kyle over, noticing a wedding ring. “I can get you past any wait in any restaurant in the city. You could take your wife somewhere nice without having to wait half the year for a reservation.” When he wasn’t moved, she turned to Henry. “You know this is ridiculous, right? There is no reason for me to be under observation for the sole reason of not being able to give them my address.”

“Elizabeth is already almost here, you might as well sit tight.”

“Thank you, Kyle.” She dismissed him and then rolled her eyes once he’d gone. Closing her eyes again, she got comfortable. “Wake me when she arrives.” As if she would be able to sleep through what was about to happen.

===

Only Blake was in the SUV with her. She was glad for it. She wasn’t in the right mindset to handle reassuring the others right now, not when she had no idea what sort of condition Nadine was in.

“We’re here, Ma’am.” Blake softly announced, bringing her out of her thoughts. “I can stay here-”

“No. Come with me. You can at least pass the details on to the others that way.”

A curt nod and he was slipping out, offering his hand to help her out with him. “I’ve got her, Frank.” The detail would still make a secure perimeter, but they’d give him space to manage her himself.

“Let us know if you need anything, Mister Moran.” Frank’s words were almost rote, but he still put sincerity behind them and they all split up to secure the area.

Elizabeth let Blake lead, handling speaking to the desk and then directing her through the halls to the correct room. At the door, she finally looked up at him again.

“Ready, Ma’am?”

She nodded and waited as he pushed the door open and then followed her in, standing sentry against the door. Her eyes landed immediately on the only bed in the room and the curled and sleeping body on it.

“Babe?” Henry’s voice broke the spell, her eyes finding him before she was darting across the room.

“How is she?”

Henry was on his feet, tugging her back. “She’s only just fallen asleep finally. Leave her be.”

“What- What happened, Henry?” She was clinging to him now.

“She was sitting outside the cleaners in her car and someone swerved to avoid hitting some animal and slammed into the back of her car. She was about to get out and had already unbuckled, she was trying to dig the pickup tickets out of her bag, so she was leaned forward. Her head slammed into the steering wheel.”

Elizabeth gasped.

“She’ll be okay. A bit of whiplash, a descent concussion, a few stitches, that’s all.” He pressed a kiss against her head.

“Then why’s she still here?”

“When they did the cognitive, she froze over what address to give. They took that as her being confused and in need of further observation.”

“…Oh.”

“She’s okay.” He knew he’d have to keep repeating it until Nadine was fully healed.

Elizabeth pushed out of his arms and rounded the bed, sitting behind Nadine before reaching out and carefully rubbing her back. “Poor thing.” It was so soft the other two barely heard it.

Familiar with how tactile they were and able to see what he boss was so obviously wanting to do, Blake cleared his throat. “Ma’am? I- I won’t let anyone in if you- if you would like to lay down for a few minutes.”

It was all the permission Elizabeth needed to curl around Nadine and hold her close.


End file.
